When You Wish Upon A Star
by herbieunloaded
Summary: Claire White never thought she'd encounter anything as magical as falling into the exciting world of Narnia. Most of all, she never thought she'd fall in love with a certain Pevensie King whilst battling for peace in Narnia. Movie-verse. PeterxOC
1. Prologue

So, I decided to start a Peter Pevensie story.  
I can't help it!  
I feel like a complete jerk for starting this story cause I've still got 2 stories to update.

**Gah.**

But anyways, reviews please? First Narnian fic :D

_Disclaimer: Everything to C.S Lewis 'cept for Claire White._

* * *

_Scratch… scratch… scratch._

Clarissa Katelyn White or Claire for short, sighed as she continued doodling on her Calculus notebook. It was yet another mundane day in Claire's life, listening to her math teacher, Mr Swift, drone on and drone about the newest rule in the topic he had just touched with the class. And for Claire, it was the worst topic she has ever attempted her whole life and probably the hardest too.

_Trigonometry._

"-and so, in order to find the value of the side opposite the given angle, we take sine of the angle and equate it to CD, which is the side we need to find, over the hypotenuse of the whole triangle. Understood?" Claire sighed again and let her eyes travel around the dingy classroom. Everyone was practically losing consciousness with Mr Swift's explanations; there was Phyllis, Claire's best friend, whose hand was covering her eyes in an attempt to sleep on without Mr Swift discovering. And to Claire's left was Jason, her other best friend whose head was lolling off his propped elbow, waking every now and then, causing Claire to snicker at the silly sight.

_I need to do something exciting in my life,_ Claire thought as the stifling summer air around her clouded her senses and pulled her into a slumber.

--

_There were muffled voices coming from the other end of the stone passageway as Claire fumbled her way forward, towards the voices. She was in a weird place, one which she did not know of. Fire torches lit the dark area, emitting heat that Claire sought comfort from in the cold and clammy place. Bright light was coming in at the end of the passageway and she assumed that was where the voices were coming from._

_A huge door stood open when Claire finally got close enough and hid behind the wall as she peeked into the huge room. There were five people and strangely, lots of peculiar beings inside._

"_Well that's crazy; no one has ever taken that castle." Claire looked at the tall guy with a head of shoulder-length brown hair spoke up with his thick Spanish accent._

_The guy in front of him with a lighter shade of brown hair swept across his left eye spoke up with annoying cockiness. "There's always a first time."_

_Claire held her breath as the debate continued. Where was she? _

"_Claire." Claire jumped up noticeably at her said name and whipped around almost immediately and saw with horror what was in front of her._

_A lion._

_A talking lion._

_Claire blinked hard as the lion stepped closer to her. "Claire."_

--

"Clarissa White!" The sharp call and the hard rapt on her desk startled the poor girl as she jumped in her seat and stared at her angry Calculus teacher like a deer caught in headlights. Her two best friends sniggered from their places beside her. Beads of sweat were rolling down her flushed face as Mr Swift continued his rant of students falling asleep in his class and the responsibility of students in classes.

But for Claire, her mind was somewhere else. Her mind was on the dream. The vividness of the scene was still fresh in her mind.

When Claire finally tuned back to whatever was still happening in her classroom, Mr Swift was still ranting about her behaviour in his class. "-behaviour from you was much uncalled for, Miss White. I'd make sure your pare-"

_Riiiiiiiiiing!_

The whole class stood up simultaneously at the sound of the school bell, filling the whole classroom with the scraping sound of metal chair legs against the grey cement floor. Then, the class bowed and chanted in unison. "Thank you, Mr Swift."

And with that, everyone rushed out of the classroom, leaving a very much annoyed Calculus teacher grumbling under his breath.

* * *

Claire, with her acoustic guitar and her bag-pack slung on her shoulders, turned back to the middle aged woman and sent a last wave. "Bye mom!"

"Be back soon after your practice, dear! We're having spaghetti, tonight." With that last reminder from her mother, the sixteen year old girl started her walk towards Phyllis' house, which was on the other end of the street, for her weekly guitar lessons. Claire had to walk through a small forest to get to her best friend's house and even though she disliked crossing the woody area, she had already gotten used to it with the numerous times she visited Phyllis.

Claire hummed along to the song her iPod was playing and failed to notice the huge gaping hole in the middle of the forest floor. Soon after, Claire's right foot stepped over the empty space in front of her, causing her to scream at her fall into the dark abyss.

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**reviews, pretty please :D**


	2. Greetings, Your Majesties

So, I'm really happy with the reviewers,  
Though not so happy with the number of reviews /

So, Review people!

I kinda changed a little something about the figures on the wall, so take note!

Major kudos to:  
**IAmPossessedByVanillaIceCream, dancerPat, iluvlovestories, Midnightxwolfx and jonnahjovinick**

_& the people who alerted this story and fav-ed it :D_

Disclaimer: All to C.S Lewis, 'cept for Claire White.

**x's and o's**

* * *

Peter Pevensie, the oldest in the Pevensie children and the High King of Narnia looked around the torch-lit cavern, where hundreds of Narnians were busy at work, shaping and knocking metals into defensible weapons and shields for the oncoming Narnian Revolution. The clanging and hammering of tools against heated metals resounded around the heated cavern as Peter, Edmund and Prince Caspian the Tenth surveyed the area. Peter and his siblings – Susan, Edmund and Lucy were finally back in Narnia after a year of waiting. Throughout the one year of having to wait for the call back into Narnia, the Pevensie children were treated like normal kids, and that bothered Peter greatly. He was thrilled beyond words to return to the magical land where he held power over and was treated with respect, unlike the real world, where cruelty and disrespect often came in terms of bullies for him. He remembered the last fight that took place moments before they were pulled back into Narnia and hoped in the name of Aslan he did not have to experience that again.

"Peter," The three Narnian royalties turned to the direction where Susan's voice was coming from and saw her peeking through one of the opening of the cavern. "You may want to see this."

Puzzled, Peter nodded and followed Susan with Edmund and Caspian trailing behind him. They arrived in a darker hallway where only three lit torches were providing the light. Susan and Lucy were waiting for them in the hallway as Peter and Edmund each took one of the torches from its holder and brushed it against the stone walls. Stick figures were engraved onto the stones and as Peter looked closer, he discovered, much to his surprise, the figures were of him and his siblings during their rule of the Golden Age.

There were figures of High King Peter the Magnificent with his sword and shield, King Edmund the Just with his sword, Queen Susan the Gentle with her bow and arrows and Queen Lucy the Valiant with her healing cordial; and all four of them were standing beside thrones similar to the ones at Cair Paravel.

"It's us." Susan said when Peter and Edmund got a view of all the wall engravings.

"There's another figure I don't recognize too." Edmund said and pulled Peter towards the place he saw the unrecognized image. The figure was one of a girl with long hair flowing behind her. She was standing in a sort of stance, holding a long sword in her hand and two knives hanging on her waist belt.

Lucy spoke up next, directing her question more to Caspian, since her siblings do not seem to have a clue about the place. "What is this place?"

Caspian looked at the four Pevensie and was faintly surprised that they have not a clue where they were. Directing them, he took the only torch still in its holder and led them deeper into the dark hallway. They arrived at an open area, a huge room, as Caspian moved towards one end of it and placing his torch onto a channel, he lit up the whole place, with the fire spreading around them quickly. Life-size sculptures of the Pevensie children were carved onto the wall and before them was the broken stone table. The one where they witnessed the death and resurrection of Aslan. The one where Edmund was almost sacrificed on. The four Pevensie kids lifted their eyes from the stone table to the majestic engraving of Aslan himself, which sat himself proud in the middle of the whole cavern. Lucy walked towards the stone table and held onto the edge as her siblings crowded behind her.

"He will save us, won't he?" She asked, turning around for reassurance from her older siblings.

Peter stared hard at Aslan's image as anger boiled at Aslan's abandonment on Narnia. Facing Susan, Edmund and Lucy, he replied in a determined tone. "I think it's up to us now."

For moments, the four continued staring at the stone engraving of Aslan until a small cough broke their silence. Peter turned to see Reepicheep, the mouse warrior standing in front of him, waiting for his attention.

"Your Majesties," Reepicheep took off his hat, twirled it in his skinny claw and bowed low to the Kings and Queens of Old before straightening again. He always did have a flair for drama. "Your presence is needed in one of the caverns, Your Majesties. One of the centaurs found a young girl, unconscious, amongst the woods of the How."

Lucy gasped at the new information and hurried after Reepicheep, with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Caspian in tow. Lucy was always the compassionate one, and cared for others more than she cared for herself.

"Is she hurt badly?" Lucy asked as they walked through the many hallways.

"Nothing serious, Your Majesty. Tia-Bael, our healer centaur is currently tending to her." Reepicheep answered swiftly as they turned a corner and reached a door. The mouse swung open the wooden door and bowed again, allowing the five humans to enter the room before him. "After you, My Honors."

There, lying on the bed was a young girl. And as Peter walked closer towards the bed, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful the girl looked, even though she was currently sleeping or unconscious. Her long brown hair lay fanned out around her on the pillow, creating a sort of halo surrounding her face. Her face was flushed and her eyes were squeezed shut, as though she was having a nightmare or she was in pain. Fresh cuts were apparent on her fair cheeks while a small piece of bandage was stuck to the left temple of her forehead.

Lucy ran forward with her hand on her healing cordial and sat on the bed gently. "Shouldn't we feed her a drop of the healing potion?"

Tia-Bael, the centaur healer turned from pounding some herbs on the counter and shook his head at the young but concerned Queen. "Tis no need for that, Your Majesty. She's just asleep."

Susan touched the girl's clammy face and brushed some of her stray hair aside. "Where did you find her?"

"One of the centaurs on guard found her in a woody area of the How, Your Majesty. He reported her to Tia-Bael first, seeing that she was in need of healing." Reepicheep answered.

Caspian spoke up for the first time since they had arrived in the bedroom, catching Susan's attention almost immediately. "She doesn't seem to be too much of a danger to us."

Peter, on the other hand, was skeptical about the girl being danger. It wasn't an everyday thing, finding a young girl in the woods of your territory while a battle was nearing. She could be a spy or someone sent to create havoc in Peter's army. Either way, he had to be on his guard about this unknown girl. Peter crossed his hands in front of his chest stubbornly and leaned against the bed's railing.

"I doubt so too, Your Highness." Reepicheep agreed and hopped off the bed. He walked towards a chair and lifted the black bag from it. "She arrived with strange clothes and belongings, Your Majesties."

Peter eyed the things on the chair as a new thought came into his mind, replacing the ones that suspected the girl as a spy. _Could she be from Peter's world?_ She could have, like Peter and his siblings, unknowingly stumbled into the magical lands of Narnia. He watched as Tia-Bael neared the bed with the freshly-pounded mixture and passed it to Lucy for her to feed the girl. Lucy took the bowl from the centaur carefully, and with the help of Susan lifting the girl's head from the pillow, she brought the edge of the bowl to her pale lips and poured the brew into her mouth slowly.

Claire sputtered and coughed at the unknown substance entering her system. She was weak and her joints were aching so much, they were causing her to groan in pain. Her eyelids were so heavy; Claire had difficulty even trying to peel them open. When she did, however, she had the biggest shock of her life.

"AHHHH!" Without warning, she screamed and shot up from the bed. Peter, Edmund, Susan, Caspian and all the others in the room brought their hands up to cover their ears at the loud shriek.

"AHHHH!" Lucy, who was shocked beyond words by Claire, screamed as well and fell over the edge of the bed in surprise.

"Lucy!" Both Edmund and Peter ran towards their poor sister while Susan tried to calm Claire down as she started hyperventilating from the shock.

"What is wrong with you?!" Claire shouted once she calmed down enough to form coherent sentences.

"What is wrong with her?!" Peter shouted back, jumping to his little sister's defense. "We should probably be asking you that, whoever you are."

Claire starred wide-eyed at Peter's sudden outburst and blushed when she finally realized the others in the room and also at her complete rudeness to the strangers that saved her. Her blue eyes trailed from the four Pevensie, to Caspian, then to Reepicheep and finally, when they landed on Tia-Bael, she drew in a loud gasp.

Claire pointed at the centaur healer and stuttered, much to his amusement. "You're… you're… a… you've got hooves! And… and… a tail!"

"Yes, well, that's what a centaur look like, My Lady." Reepicheep hopped onto Claire's bed and bowed, though not as low as how he did for the Kings and Queens of Old.

"You're a mouse." Claire stated and reeled at the fact that what she had just said, came out as more of a fact than a question. "You're a talking mouse with a sword and a feather hat and you just bowed to me. This must be a dream. Dream. I'm dreaming." Claire pointed at Reepicheep. "You are not real. I am dreaming. You're a figment of my imagination."

"Pardon me?"

Claire raised her eyes to the ceiling and exclaimed. "Wow, a talking mouse with manners. Seriously now. I'm awake! Pull me back to reality?"

"Is she mad?" Edmund whispered to Peter, earning himself a glare from Claire herself.

"I heard that." She stood up from the bed and swayed slightly at the sudden dizziness of having blood flowing to her limbs after hours of not using them. Before she could fall over and made a fool of herself, Claire stretches out her hand immediately to grab hold of the bed's railing. "This is too real. Even the dizziness feels like _real_ dizziness."

Susan, concerned at how Claire's behaving stood up from the bed and was about to walk over to her when Claire placed her hands on her hips and huffed. "Okay. This isn't funny. I'm supposed to wake up already! I'm counting to five, unknown higher power. And when I'm done, I am going to wake up in Mr Swift's class or in my bed." Claire closed her eyes and started counting. "One… two… three… four… four and a half… four and three-quarters… _FIVE_!"

Claire peeled open her eyes again and cursed when she found herself in the same place, with the same people staring at her in amusement. She hopped around the whole place in frustration and felt hopeless for once. "Ugh! Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN! Holy nuggets of goddamn chocolates!"

Caspian stepped forward and held onto the hysterical girl's shoulders, in hopes of calming her down. "Hey, hey. Are you alright?"

"No, I don't thi- " Claire spoke in annoyance before she was cut short when she looked at Caspian's face, recognizing him at once. "I think I saw you before." She then turned to the four Kings and Queens of Old and said. "I saw you five before. Okay, not really see you with my own eyes. I kinda dreamt about y'all. Quarreling. Over some battle thingy. I must be crazy."

Claire pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Shouldn't they cue the talking lion so I can wake up from this insanity?"

Lucy rushed towards Claire and crouched down in front of her since she was back to sitting on the edge of the seat. "Talking lion! It's Aslan!"

"Right. A name for the talking lion. Aslan. Right." Claire replied stupidly and finally, wanting to come to terms that she was really awake and not dreaming, stretched out her hand and said. "Will somebody inflict some pain on me so I can seriously confirm I am not dreaming?"

"I'll help." Peter stepped forward and instead of pinching or smacking Claire's outstretched hand, he reached over and sent her a resounding smack on the back of her head, causing her to hiss and jump up at the contact.

Claire held the back of her head and sent Peter a glare. "That freakin' hurt, you asshole!"

Peter was insulted. He had, never in his whole life been called an Asshole before, and he was determined to set the record straight for this strange girl who was no younger than him. "Well, I'll have you know I'm no asshole! I'm High King Peter the Magnificent, and I'm the ruler of Narnia along with my siblings."

"You could have left out the last bit in your name." Susan commented, making Edmund snigger behind his hand.

"I'm Lucy and those two over there, are my brother Edmund and my sister, Susan. We're all Kings and Queens of Old. That one there is Prince Caspian. " Lucy said and stretched out her hand. "What's your name?"

"I'm Clarissa White or Claire for short." Claire took Lucy's hand and shook it. "Erm… Princess of Mr and Mrs White."

That last sentence seemed good enough for the occupants of the room as they burst out laughing, including Peter. For some reason, he was attracted to this girl, but for the stubbornness of him, hates to admit it.

"You're not British. You've got a different accent." Susan pointed out as Claire turned around and nodded. "How did you come into Narnia?"

"I'm from America. New Jersey, to be specific." She answered and blew the fallen bangs away from her face. "I was visiting my best friend, Phyllis for guitar practice and had to pass by this small little clearing. Fell into a hole in the forest floor and the next thing I knew, I'm talking to a mouse." She then turned to Reepicheep and patted his head. "Though I have to admit, you're a very, very, very adorable talking mouse."

"With the greatest respect, My Lady. I do belie-" Reepicheep was ruffled at being described as _adorable_. But before he could correct Claire, he was interrupted by Peter's cough for he did not want to listen to the same talk Reepicheep had with Lucy when she called him 'cute'.

"I believe we should let Claire rest now. Come on, Reepicheep, aren't you suppose to be doing your duty at the How's gates?" Peter asked as a flustered Reepicheep immediately saluted Peter and dashed out of the door, much to the amusement of Claire. "Susan, you and Lucy can stay and accompany Claire, since you're pretty much free for the rest of the day."

Lucy and Susan nodded before they turned away and started discussing at a mile per hour about the dresses or clothes they could give Claire and the way they could do her hair. Claire watched as Peter, Edmund and Caspian turned to leave the room and almost immediately, called out. "Bye!"

The three whipped their heads around and seeing Claire's goodbye wave, waved back weakly before leaving the room, as Edmund closed the door behind him. They walked along the dark hallways to the weapon making area where Caspian departed, to go check on the centaurs on guard when Edmund spoke up quite suddenly. "She seems rather nice."

Peter stole a glance at his younger brother and nodded curtly. "Yes."

"And she's really pretty." Edmund added, smirking at Peter.

"Yes, but that's beside the point if she's got no use to us at all." Peter said and nodded to a passing Narnian who greeted the two Kings with a deep bow.

"Aha! So you think she's pretty!" Edmund said, pointing an accusing finger at Peter who for some reason, blushed. "You're blushing! High King Peter the Magnificent, blushing. Never thought I'd live to see the day!"

Peter glared at his brother and smacked him on the arm playfully. "Oh shut up!"

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**review, beautiful people!**


	3. Swords and Waterspits

This is a sorta filler.  
And I'm gonna be changing a lil bit of Narnia's history on their past Kings and Queens.

_Disclaimer: C.S Lewis' the BOSS! i'm the manager of Claire White._

P.S: Good lord! i just saw a PeterxOC story with the character named Claire as well! Goodness!  
Should i change the name then?

Kudos:  
**chnoelle, dancerPat, jonnajovinick, iluvlovestories!**

Be sure to leave a comment! i need comments to know if this story's needing anything to be changed (:

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Claire White stood in front of the full-length brass mirror and frowned. "Do I seriously have to wear this? I mean, my jeans and shirt are just a little torn."

Susan and Lucy Pevensie came up behind her and shook their heads. "A _little torn_ would be an understatement, Claire." Lucy said with a cheery grin. She brought up Claire's vintage graphic shirt up and stretched it to its full length. A gapping hole lay open on the belly of the shirt, and if Claire was to wear it, she'd probably be getting wolf-whistles from all the male Narnians.

"Besides, this colour of this dress accentuates your blue eyes so brilliantly." Susan said before pulling Claire's hand away from tugging the flowy sleeves of her dress. "Come; let's go to the field now, I think they're starting soon."

Claire trailed behind Susan and Lucy as they made their way towards the training field where their usual trainings were held. They met and greeted several Narnians along the way, but as Claire smiled at the fellow beasts, all she ever got were hushed whispers and scrutinizing looks that made her feel very, very uncomfortable.

Susan saw the looks the Narnians were sending Claire and in an attempt to make her feel better, she patted her on her shoulder encouragingly as they exited the main entrance of the How. The sun shone down brightly on the field, giving the grass a lush green colour. Two figures could be seen on the far end of the field, circling each other with their swords outstretched. Not long after, Peter striked at Edmund who dodged the blow quickly as their spar started. The three girls gathered on the sides of the training circle that Trumpkin had drawn up for their training and while Susan and Lucy began rummaging through her backpack, Claire decided to just cross her legs and watch the Kings spar.

She watched with fascination at every nimble move the two brothers made in order to avoid each other's blow and being the total all-American girl she is, she cheered and clapped whenever one brother did an impressive move.

_Clang!_

Peter and Edmund's sword met at the tip when they paused, breathing heavily and eyeing each other with contempt. Droplets of sweat were trickling down their flushed faces as the early morning sun beat down on them. Then, they swung their swords down simultaneously before uncrossing their blade and sending each other a friendly smirk.

Claire stood up and started gushing about their spar and their moves. "Good lord! You guys are so cool! Did you see the way Edmund jumped and the way Peter bent to avoid getting hit, Lu? It's freakin' awesome!"

Lucy laughed from her spot where she was now holding Claire's wallet. "You're the first girl I know that loves sparring, Claire. _First._"

Edmund laugh at her enthusiasm while Peter tried his best to conceal his smile_ and_ restraining himself from looking into her captivating blue eyes over and over again. "What does cool mean?"

Claire paused in the middle of her little 'fan-girl' tirade. _Of course they don't know what cool means; they're from a different era._ When Susan and Lucy had told her they were from the 1940s last night, she was shocked beyond anything else. "Oh, cool means awesome. Like amazing?"

"Ahhh. That I understand." Edmund said and drank greedily from his waterskin, causing a loud gulping sound to emit from him, much to Susan's disgust. "You Americans have got some weird phrases."

Claire put her hands on her hips and smirked. "Yes, but we're cooler than you, boring Englishmen." She stood, grinning at the two kings and before Edmund could have a chance to rebut, she cut in again, enthusiastically. "Can you teach me how to sword-fight?"

Edmund sputtered, spewing the water out of his mouth and at the hem of Claire's dress while Peter simply looked at her. Claire sent Edmund a disgusted look and said in screaming sarcasm. "Nice. Very gentlemanly of you, Your Majesty."

"Sorry about that." Edmund threw his waterskin on the grass and unsheathed his sword before stumping it in front of Claire. "Why would you want to learn sword-fighting?"

Claire shrugged and brushed a strand of her fallen bangs from her eyes and eyed the sword. "Well, it's the only form of survival in this place, isn't it? I wouldn't wanna die before I can see the jerk of a king dead."

"Logical." Edmund said before smirking at his brother. "Well, I'm not that good of a warrior, so I'd suggest Peter teaching you instead. I've never beaten him in sword-fighting before. Aye, Pete?" Edmund's smirk grew bigger while Lucy and Susan giggled in the background.

The High King threw his younger brother a glare before turning his attention back to the brunette. "We'll have to see how well you can handle a sword first. Pick up Edmund's sword."

"Sure!" Claire ran forward and places her slender hands on the grip of the sharp weapon before pulling with all her might. But, however much she pulled and tugged the sword; it was still embedded in the ground stubbornly, refusing to come out. "Eh, that's not fair. Edmund threw it into the ground too hard. It's stuck."

Peter raised one of his eyebrows at her and stood up. "Really now?" With ease, he pulled the damned weapon from the ground and held it out to Claire who was staring, wide-eyed at the High King. "Here."

Claire took the sword from his calloused hand and within a split second, she dropped the sword onto the ground again. She looked up at Peter with a shocked expression. "Is it just me or has the sword gained weight? How could you lift it up like its air?!" She held onto the sword's grip and balanced the tip of the blade on the ground. Then she lifted the weapon slowly and staggered, having being unable to support the sword's weight. "This thing is s- Whoa!"

Claire continued staggering around the field while trying her best to hold the sword out in front of her. She swung the deadly weapon around wildly, causing the four Pevensies to dodge her blind blows every now and then. Before the Pevensies could figure out what had happened, they heard an 'Oof!' and found Claire sprawled on the floor, panting, with the sword stuck on the grass above her head.

"Heavy." Claire pushed herself off of the grass and smiled at the horrified Kings and Queens in front of her sheepishly.

Peter Pevensie turned to his siblings and shrugged. "I think we should start with the basics, first."

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one word;

**REVIEW!**


	4. I Found A Box

I'm so so so happy now! Thanks to the beloved readers who took time out to review!  
Thanks so much!

Anyways, hope you guys will love this chapter!

Kudos:  
**dancerPat, chnoelle, PetiteDiable, Denys, I am Brooklyn, iluvlovestories, MaryMacdonald, Companion Wanderer **(Thanks for the comments!)**, jonnahjovinick** and last but def not the least, **xxroxy-dogxx**

xoxo

* * *

"Now, that's just wrong." Susan instructed Claire and slapped her wrongly positioned legs with the bow that Father Christmas had given her. Claire winced but remained quiet while adjusting her legs. Her arms were aching from holding the bow all morning at an angle Susan had told her was the correct position for a perfect aim and her eyes were hurting from all the squinting she had to do from the bright sunlight.

"Alright. Now be prepared to shoot." Susan started while standing in the middle of both Caspian and Claire. She was coaching both the Prince and the girl that she had gotten very close to during the past few days. She had budding feelings for the Prince, and only Claire knew about it. Susan couldn't muster the courage to tell her siblings for fear of Peter's over-protectiveness and the possibility that it could leak out if Lucy and Edmund knew.

"Hold your stance." Both Claire and Caspian stood straighter at that command and prepared, squinting at the archery board thirty feet in front of them. "Release!"

_Thunk!_

"Good, Claire. You're about to meet your target." Claire's arrow had reached the ring around the bulls-eye, while Caspian's was on the…

"Ground." Susan said. Her frown was obviously betrayed by the amusement in her voice. Claire gave a small chuckle, making the blush more evident in Caspian's tanned cheeks.

Caspian smiled sheepishly at the two girls in front of her and said. "Well, I'm not cut out to be an archer."

Susan shook her head, causing her dark brown hair to swing back and forth. "Nonsense. Here, let me help you." The young Queen of Old stood on the right of Caspian and held up his bow. "Here, hold it this way." She wrapped her hands around Caspian's own while Claire watched on, feeling somewhat out of place between this two.

_Okay, this is really awkward, _Claire thought. "Erm… I'm going now. Gonna meet Peter for my sword-training." She said, mimicking her bow as a sword and swinging it around, making both Susan and Caspian laugh. "Have fun, Su." Claire winked knowingly at Susan before turning around and walking in the direction of where she had seen Peter go moments before. She crossed the field but slowed down gradually when she felt eyes boring into her back.

_Like someone was watching her._

Claire turned around and looked at the evergreen woods of the How but saw nothing. Except, there was something, and she had missed it. The rustling in one of the bushes went unnoticed as a particular Telmarine soldier watches her intently before returning to King Miraz's castle to report all that he was sent to look out for.

_Strange,_ Claire thought as she continued looking around_. I thought I saw the bushes move._

She shrugged it off after finding nothing and blamed the sudden paranoia on her lack of rest from the archery training that morning.

A hand lay on her shoulder, causing her to turn around sharply and raise her fist to strike the person in the face. _If she was to do anything in times of being attacked, it was to attack others first. _"Hey, hey! It's me!"

"Peter!" Claire breathed a sigh of relief when she looked into the all familiar blue eyes she always got lost in. More so during the past few days where they had been busy training her. "Don't creep up on me! It's freaky!"

Peter held up his hand in defense. "I wasn't creeping up on you. You didn't seem to notice me when I came up behind you. There's a difference."

"Right." Claire laughed, bringing the High King along with her as well. "So, Your Majesty, where are we training today?"

Peter frowned at her referring him with his title even though he knew she was only joking. "The woods. It's time you learn how to attack, defend and kill in a less than familiar environment."

"Sure!" Claire said and slung her bow on her shoulder as they made their way into the forest. They walked in comfortable silence with the only noises around them being the ones from the bugs flying around and the crunching sounds of the grass with every step they took.

**--**

"Try again." Peter said, passing Claire's sword back to her. "Hold it tighter, but don't stiffen up your wrist."

Claire nodded, panting heavily. If the morning sun was horrible, then the afternoon sun would be the worst thing ever. Claire was exhausted, under the extreme training of Peter, the cruel beating of the afternoon sun and the incredibly stuffy climate of the woods. But she was determined to learn how to at least handle a blade in times of dire threats. She did not want to be seen as a useless and hopeless girl that had fallen into Narnia. Sure, she had no idea how to wield a sword or how to aim at a target accurately with a bow. But she was willing to learn. And that's all Peter and his siblings needed – determination.

Claire moved into the empty place in front of Peter and held the sword steadily in front of her. "Ready?" She nodded and narrowed her eyes at Peter.

_Clunk!_

The first blow from Peter was hard, but lighter than what he would give to an opponent. Claire blocked it before swiveling his sword around and aiming a stroke at his torso in which Peter avoided skillfully. On and on the training went, with the occasional grunts and pants from either two. Finally, the spar ended with Claire's sword flying over to the side and Peter holding his sword right in front of her face.

"You're harsh." Claire exclaimed, looking between the gleaming point of Peter's blade and the King himself.

Peter smiled and sheathed his sword back into the scabbard. "And you're improving."

"Good to know that the hours of devil training has been put to good use." Claire replied sarcastically and grasped Peter's outstretched hand. A warm fuzzy feeling filled Claire's stomach when her hand came into contact with Peter's larger and rougher ones, creating a stark contrast with her much smaller and much smoother hand.

"That's it for today, then." Claire nodded as she ran to pick up her fallen sword over at the side. A gentle breeze blew through the woods, sending a chill down Claire's spine. She picked up her sword, sheathed it and was about to turn and head back to Peter when she saw a glimmer in an area not far from her.

Claire walked towards it out of curiosity while parting obstructing branches and leaves with her hand. Finally, she arrived at a small clearing where a simple box lay. She walked towards it and kneeled at the side of it. Intricate designs bordered the rosewood edges where a simple silver star was carved into the middle of the box's face.

Peter came up behind her and asked. "Claire? What's that?"

"A box." She said simply and tucked a piece of hair behind her ears so as to get a clearer view of the object in front of her. Her hands went to the small clip-lock at the front and when she motioned to open it, she felt another pair of hands on hers, startling her slightly when she realized it was Peter's.

"I don't think it's wise for you to open it like that."

Claire quirked a dark eyebrow at the King. "It's…. just a box?"

"Yes, well, it could be a box with traps." He took her hands away from opening the lock and pulled her up with him. "Let's bring it back to the How. We can get Trufflehunter to take a look at it."

* * *

"So…" King Miraz started when Acarus, the soldier he had sent to spy on the Narnians came back. "Is whatever the prophecy talking about true?"

Acarus stole a glance at the fierce and burly guards surrounding him and nodded nervously. "Y-yes, My King. There is indeed a girl who looked exactly like the First Queen of Narnia."

"Exactly?"

Acarus nodded again. "A complete replica, my Lord."

Miraz drummed his fingers on the arms of his throne. "Then we can't have the prophecy coming true, can we?" He asked though receiving no reply from the ministers and soldiers before him. "Glozelle."

The bearded, dark haired Telmarine general came forward, kneeling in front of the tyrant King. "At your service, My Lord."

Miraz's eyes sparkled with contempt as he eyed the lowly General in front of him. "I want you to _kill_ her. And make sure you do a nice clean job."

* * *

**is the last part a lil mary-sue-to-be?  
I hope not! i've been trying to avoid turning Claire into a darned Mary-Sue.**

**REVIEWS FOR COMMENTS!**


	5. The Sword, The Knives and The Circlet

Like seriously, thanks for the darling reviews, guys!  
They make me so tremendously HAPPY!  
Really!  
Here's another one, dedicated to the reviewers!

I sorta change something about Queen Helen.  
The fact that I made her appear in Narnia BEFORE 1900 to suit the storyline :D

Special thanks to:  
**xxroxy-dogxx, PetiteDiable, dancerPat, IAmPossessedByVanillaIceCream **_(for the double reviews!)_**, I Am Brooklyn, GothQueen13, ReinetteNarbonne, chnoelle, live.love.chanel, Sky-Pirate325** and last but not least, **jonnahjovinick**_ (yep, she's the cabbie's wife)_

Disclaimer: Lewis - BIG BOSS. Me - manager of Claire White.

* * *

Claire huffed and hopped onto the broken stone table, occupying the space beside Lucy. "For the millionth time, I told you, I found the box in the forest! No Father Christmas, no Aslan, no fairies and no wizards. I just found it alone like that."

"I knew it." Trufflehunter said and looked at a clueless Claire. Ever since Peter and Claire had brought the box to Trufflehunter, he had been giving Claire weird looks, much to her annoyance. The badger was very wise, for he and his family were one of the first Narnians to be created since the beginning. He was very friendly and humble, and was Claire's best friend other than the Pevensies and Caspian.

"Ugh." The sixteen year old teenager growled in frustration and shot the old badger a look. "What do you know, Truffle? You've been saying that over and over again."

The badger stopped from circling the box and turned to Claire. "It's Truffle_hunter, _Claire."

"I know that. But Truffle's shorter and cuter." Claire went on while Trufflehunter continued circling again. "Truffle_hunter_'s sucha mouthful."

"Did you see what is in the box, Claire?" Claire opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Peter who took the liberty of answering for her, sending her an apologetic smile.

"She didn't. I was afraid the box could contain traps and such. So we brought it to you first, hoping you'd somehow recognize the box before opening it." Claire nodded and fiddled with the feather on Reepicheep's hat, turning it and swiveling it around. The mouse did not seem to mind though because he was used to the Claire's weird but friendly actions.

"Your Majesty." Trufflehunter turned to Peter and said. "Do you mind if I open it?"

Peter looked at Claire for permission, since she was the finder of the object. Claire shrugged in return and hopped off the stone table before nearing the box. "No. Go ahead."

The badger kneeled in front of the metal lock that held the box close and with a flick of his long nail, he had opened the lock. Slowly, he lifted the cover as the others crowd around; hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was in that box. The hinges of the box creaked loudly from the lack of use, making Claire and a few others cringe noticeably at the awful sound.

A sword, two knives and an intricately carved gold circlet with a sapphire jewel lay in the middle of the velvet covering as Trufflehunter let out a gasp and looked straight into Claire's eyes.

"What?"

Trufflehunter did not take his eyes off of the flustered girl and said in an aged voice, as though he was reminiscing. "Your Majesties, did you know of the First Queen's prophecy?"

Lucy looked at her confused siblings and shook her head. "No. What's that?"

"Queen Helen was the first queen of Narnia, and mother of all the original kings and queens. She was brought into the land by her husband, King Frank I, who stumbled upon Narnia by accident." Trufflehunter explained, looking from Susan to Lucy, then to Edmund and Peter and lastly, his eyes landed on Claire once again. "She was kind and loving, and was well respected throughout the whole of Narnia. However, she was murdered by one of the hags and werewolves in the Kingdom who were plotting to overthrow the monarchy. King Frank I banished the two species from his Kingdom out of anger, forcing them to live in exile until the reign of the White Witch. But that's not important."

Claire couldn't help but snigger at Trufflehunter's last sentence. Peter shot her a sidelong glance, causing her to blush at the unneeded attention and turned back to the badger as he continued, stubbornly not wanting to meet Peter's eyes. "A Narnian revolution was predicted by one of the Centaur prophets in the High Court of King Frank I and was prophesized that a teenage girl no more than twenty human years will be brought into the lands of Narnia without the knowledge of what her purpose or who she is until she finds the box that holds the sacred belongings of First Queen of Narnia."

Claire widened her eyes. She's a teenage girl lesser than twenty years. She arrived into Narnia unexpectedly. _And lastly, she found the box. _Everyone turned to Claire silently, making her blush at the sudden attention. Trufflehunter then continued to speak while fingering the things inside the box. "The circlet, silver sword and twin-knives were presented by Aslan himself to Queen Helen on the day of her royal coronation. The weapons were said to be loyal in character, and could only be wielded by the owner and only the owner. The prophesized girl will then have to undertake the role as a Narnian Queen after finding the box and take part in the Revolution ultimately, helping the old Narnians against the fight for their freedom."

Trufflehunter ended his little legend as the crowd lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Peter cleared his throat nervously, looking between Claire and the box. "So you're trying to say, Claire's the one?"

Trufflehunter let out a wheezy laugh and shook his head. "I'm not _trying_ to say she's the one, Your Majesty. Because Claire _is_ the one. She's the complete replica of Queen Helen herself, fulfilling another part of the prophecy. 'The prophesized girl will look exactly like the First Queen of Narnia, though much different in nature.'"

Claire cocked her head to the side in confusion. She understood the whole prophecy thing, but she couldn't figure out why she was chosen. "Eh, so I'm like a reincarnation of her?"

Trufflehunter shook his head again. "No, silly girl. We, Narnians do not believe in reincarnation. If I'm not wrong, you're the direct descendant of Queen Helen."

"Oh… so she's like my great-great-great-great-great-great-_GREAT_-grandmother, or something?" Trufflehunter nodded. "But… why _me_? Why not my mom or my grandmama?"

"I don't know that for sure, Claire." Trufflehunter explained and picked up the sword. "Perhaps Aslan could provide an answer for that, if you do see him."

"So what do I do now?" Claire asked, staring at the gleaming weapons in front of her.

"Why, take up the role as a Narnian Queen! We know for sure now you're the prophesized girl, so you have to fulfill it and help us in the Revolution!" Trufflehunter explained and handed Claire the sword.

"Okay…" Claire lit up at the light-weightedness of the sword and exclaimed with a grin. "Well, at least the sword's much lighter!"

Everyone laughed at her little comment, but it seems only Peter could see the slight worry and fear behind the depths of blue in Claire White's eyes and the forced smile on her fair face.

**--**

The sun was setting when Claire walked out of the How and went to the ruins that lay in the centre of the field. Her mind was still reeling from all the information she had just brain-swallowed moments before. She sat on the stone ground, placing her hands behind to support her as she thought of her 'need' to be involved in a battle. She was a sixteen-year-old for crying out loud, and knew nothing of wars and battles. It was a scary thought for Claire that she was to be clad in armor and fighting some big, dark villain who'd kill her in a blink of an eye. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't notice the wise badger coming towards her in concern.

"Silver for your thoughts?" Trufflehunter asked, eyeing the small frown on Claire's usually happy face.

"Oh! Hey, Truffle. Didn't hear you coming." Claire said, using the nickname she had for the old badger. Trufflehunter took the seat beside Claire and turned to look at her in concern.

"So? What are you thinking about, Your Majesty."

Claire scoffed and looked at the badger. "_Your Majesty?_ I prefer to be called Claire, thank you very much." She turned back to staring at the horizon where the sun was lowering gradually, creating a light orange dusting across the light blue sky.

"You're scared." The badger stated and placed his claws behind him just like how Claire did, with her _hands._

Claire nodded honestly. "Yeah, I'm scared." Claire sighed and turned to look at Trufflehunter for a few seconds. "I'm a teenager for crying out loud! How am I suppose to help you guys win this revolution thing? Unlike Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy and Caspian, I have _no_ idea how to fight, _no_ idea how to kill and _no _idea how to win a _real_ battle. I feel like the trainings I'm having are going to be useless. I'm just gonna be a complete coward and go hide myself in some safe place during the battle."

The badger nodded in understanding. He knew what Claire was feeling, and he pitied her that she had to find out about the prophecy quite so suddenly even though he knew Claire would be the one to fulfill it the first time he saw her. "You worry too much, little one. I for one _know _you're going to be just fine. And you won't be alone; every true Narnian is in this battle as much as you are going to be."

Claire was still not fully convinced. "But what if I screw up and… and… I don't know! This is a war. With sharp swords, blood and death. Blood and death, Truffle! God, how gruesome is it gonna be! I'm sure dead heads lolling around during war is common. Pure yuck."

"Well, not exactly heads. Limbs and torsos will be thrown all over too." Trufflehunter piped in with the smile, much to Claire's annoyance.

"Well, not helping!" Claire said and huffed, causing Truffle to chuckle at her actions. Suddenly, his badger nose picked up another human smell, a smell much different from Claire's fragrance. A smell that smelled exactly like a…

_Telmarine._

"Watch out!" Trufflehunter pushed down the confused Queen as a Telmarine shot an arrow in their direction. Another arrow came whizzing past them, narrowly missing Claire's cheek by mere inches as she scrambled to her feet. She heard the badger let out a loud groan and saw to her very horror that Trufflehunter was pierced by an arrow in one of his legs, making him immobile.

"Truffle!" Claire could have fainted from the shock of the sudden attack and at seeing the old badger hurt.

"Kill the girl! Just the girl! Forward!" One soldier bellowed to his comrades. At that, the Telmarine soldiers started nearing them with menace looks on their faces as they dropped their bows and held their swords at ready. Just as suddenly as they appeared, they dropped onto the ground, dead. Red-feathered arrows were flying towards the soldiers at lightning speed as Susan, Caspian and Peter came running out of the How with their weapons at ready. Edmund and Lucy ran towards Claire and Trufflehunter instead while their older siblings and the dark prince tackled the Telmarine soldiers.

"Claire!" Lucy dropped beside her friend and the injured badger.

"T-truffle… he's hurt! Those people s-shot him!" Claire stuttered and looked down at her hands and tunic. They were stained with blood. With her dear friend's blood.

Lucy's hand went straight to her healing cordial as always, but was stopped by Edmund immediately. "We can't feed him that yet. The arrow's still embedded in his body. We'll have to bring him to the healer quickly!" With that, Edmund carried the injured Narnian into the How with Lucy in tow, while Claire simply stood on the spot she was on, staring at the backs of her friends disappearing into the ruins.

"Claire!" Susan came up in front of her and latched onto her shoulders tightly, shaking her a little. She was shocked at Claire's pale face and trembling state and thought she was probably in a very big shock.

Peter and Caspian came up to her next, both looking concerned, but more so Peter, who looked like he could go crazy over worrying for her. Peter eyed the blood on her tunic and panicked. "Are you hurt?"

"No, Trufflehunter is. He took a shot for me." Claire said and took in a few deep breaths to calm herself, not wanting to look like a complete weakling in front of the three experienced warriors.

Claire attempted a smile that did not reach her eyes as she said. "They were trying to kill me, right?"

* * *

**review as always darlings!  
i love to give shoutouts to my supporters!**

**:D**


	6. Excuse Me?

This is the longest chapter I've ever typed,  
So I do hope you guys will like it :D  
It's my favouite chapter by far.

And regarding the romance between Peter and Claire, it's coming, SOON.  
it's a little crush kinda thing now.

_Disclaimer: I own only Claire White._

P.S: Well, i didn't exactly receive a lot of reviews for the previous chapter.  
So, i do hope you guys will review this one cause it took me one whole night and half of my morning the next day to finish it.

**x.**

* * *

Peter cleared his throat loudly, causing the murmur of the confused Narnians to die down almost immediately. "Our hiding place has been discovered. And I suspect they've known our location for a while. The attack on this tomb will only be a matter of time." Sharp intakes of breath were heard from the shock Narnians as the murmur returned again, louder than before.

Claire sat on the foot of Aslan's stone table as she listened to the worried mumblings of the Narnians. Of course, she could easily sense their concerns, for she herself was panicking. Knowing that Miraz was trying to kill her made her want to heave herself dry and the fact that they could be attacked or killed anytime now were not helping to make her feel better about the situation.

"Silence!" Peter roared, causing the word to echo against the cold stone walls. His angry stare flashed from one particular Minotaur to a centaur, who had been quarreling over the stupid idea of hiding underground and waiting for the Telmarines to think that they have deserted the How.

Reepicheep took a daring step forward and asked. "What do you propose we do, Your Majesty?"

"We need to plan a night rai-"

"We need to step up secur-"

Both Peter and Caspian spoke up simultaneously, creating an awkward tension in the atmosphere. The High King and Telmarine Prince refused to back down from their difference in views and stared hard at each other with dark eyes clashing with bright blue ones. The tension was so great; Claire could have used her knife to slice through it as easy as slicing butter. Finally, Caspian, having being the one with the lower status nodded his head curtly and diverted his eyes elsewhere, allowing the young King the liberty of speaking up.

Peter smirked and continued, looking from Caspian to the rest of the Narnians. "Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."

"Well that's crazy; no one has ever taken that castle." Caspian's thick Spanish accent ran out, showing his direct disagreement to Peter's idea of attacking the Telmarines first.

"There's always a first time." Peter replied cockily, quirking a light eyebrow at the Prince standing before him.

"Strong sense of déjà vu here." Claire mumbled and looked up to see Lucy sending her a confused look. She stood up from the spot on the ground and took the space beside Lucy before whispering in her ears. "I kinda dreamt of this quarrel the day I arrived here." The Queen of Old nodded in understanding as a gruff voice rang out.

"We'll have the enemies at surprise." Trumpkin said as he took a bow to show his apology for taking the liberty to speak up.

"But we have the advantage here." Caspian argued, clearing not wanting to give into Peter. _Boys will always be boys, _Claire thought, eyeing the staring competition between Peter and Caspian. They will never give into the other party no matter how wrong they are.

Susan walked towards Caspian and suggested. "If we dig in, we can probably hold them off indefinitely." Peter moved his glare to Susan, somehow feeling angered at the fact that his sister wasn't supporting him but helping the Telmarine Prince.

Pattertwig said quickly, something which he couldn't help. "I for one feel safer underground."

The High King sighed and looked back at Caspian again. "Look, I appreciate what you've done here. But this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb."

"Yes. And if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out." Edmund gathered, speaking up about a flaw in Caspian's plan of staying in the How which even Claire had to admit was very logical.

"We can collect nuts." Pattertwig suggested.

Reepicheep turned to the squirrel and agreed sarcastically. "Yes! And throw them at the Telmarines!" He eyed the squirrel and sent him a resounding smack across the back of his furry head. "Shut up!" Reepicheep then turned to Peter and drew his rapier dramatically. "I think you know where I stand, sire."

Peter gave Reepicheep a satisfied smile and turned to Glenstorm, the leader of the centaur pack. "If we manage to get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"

The tanned, dread locked centaur contemplated for a while, staring into Peter's eyes. Glenstorm then shifted his sight to the silently pleading Telmarine Prince's dark orbs. "Well I'll try, my liege."

"That is what I'm worried about." Lucy said as Peter wheeled around and stared at his little sister. Claire turned to Lucy at her sudden statement and frowned. _What is she talking about?_

"Sorry?" Peter frowned in confusion.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and continued. "You're acting like there are only two options." A worried expression flitted across the fair face of the young Queen. "Dying here… or dying there."

Peter threw an annoyed look at the youngest Pevensie. "Or you haven't been listening, Lu."

Lucy shook her head and stared back at her brother squarely. "No, _you're_ not listening! Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?"

A vein contracted visibly on Peter's neck as he clenched his jaw in pure anger at the mere mention of the lion that he had thought abandoned Narnia. "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

**(A/N: I just couldn't resist but include the scene in Camp Rock where Mitchie teaches Shane some manners. Sorry, folks.)**

With that, the High King stalked off while Claire hopped off the stone table, jumping to Lucy's defense. She couldn't stand this side of Peter any longer. His self-centeredness and unwillingness to listen to others was killing her. Furthermore, she couldn't stand his attitude toward his little sister. The kind girl who puts others before herself, that Claire has come to befriend and love. "_Excuse me?_"

Peter stopped in his tracks at Claire's voice and turned around. "What?"

Claire brushed her bangs away from her eyes before planting her hands on her hips firmly. "Well, you're kinda being a _jerk _right now."

Susan and Edmund looked on in shock at Claire's sudden outburst while Lucy broke into a small smile at first before widening it into a grin at Peter's flushed face. Several Narnians took in sharp breaths of surprise at their new Queen's bravery to speak up as they watch on with amusement, seeing how flustered their High King was. For once, Peter Pevensie the Magnificent, High King of Narnia, actually couldn't find his voice or his sharp sarcasm to retort Claire's angry. Simply put, he was stumped for words, so he replied feebly. "What?"

"Lucy's your sister. And if that's the way you talk to your little sister, then that's not it." Sending Peter a last glare, Claire turned to a smiling Lucy and held out her hand. She returned the smile weakly and watched as the petite girl hopped off the stone bench and took her hand. Then, she turned to Peter again and with a sigh, she said. "Maybe you should learn how to cherish your family when they're still here with you."

"Come on Lu; let's go see how Trufflehunter's doing." The two girls brushed past a gapping crowd and the surprised High King and walked out of the hall quickly while their shoes made clicking noises against the stone floor.

Claire let out a breath she had not known she held in once they were out in the empty passageway while Lucy turned to the older girl with a grin. "My gosh, Claire, you were so _cool_!"

Claire laughed at Lucy's use of the word she had taught her and shrugged as they turned a corner. "He was a jerk to you."

The two reached the room in which Claire had occupied the first day she had arrived in Narnia until she was shifted to another one and opened the door quietly, taking care not to wake Trufflehunter up from his sleep since he was still in recovering state from his injury. They stepped in quietly and crossed the room as the injured badger snored thunderously in his sleep.

Lucy and Claire suppressed their giggles as they took a seat on either side of Trufflehunter's bed with Claire's backpack slung over the chair beside the window. Lucy went over to retrieve the bag while Claire moved to cover the badger's heavily bandaged body with the blanket that he had kicked away in his sleep. Who knew animals will actually have habits like kicking their blanket away?

**--**

Claire held up a few brown braids she had made using the strings in her bag and showed them to Susan and Lucy. "Look, I made us headbands! They're so boho chic!"

"What's the meaning of 'boho chic'?" Susan questioned, taking one of the finished braids from Claire's outstretched hand. She had joined the two girls soon after the planning for the night raid on Miraz's castle ended and Trufflehunter was awoken by the din Lucy and Claire were making in his room.

Claire moved to the back of Lucy and untangled one of the finished headband from the rest. "It's a fashion term. It's meant to look really bohemian and yet classy." She wrapped the headband around Lucy's head and twined it into Lucy's hair to secure it. "There. May I present…" Claire hit her lap, creating a sort of drum roll and places the brass mirror in front of Lucy before declaring in a low tone. "Queen Lucy the Valiant _a.k.a_ the next _Kate Moss_."

Trufflehunter laughed at the gleeful look of Lucy when she peered into brass mirror on. "You're full of such weird and fascinating things, Claire."

Claire smiled as she helped with putting the headband onto Susan. "What can I say? I'm from a weird and fascinating world, Truffle."

After she was done doing Susan's hair, Claire then proceeded to doing hers, arranging the headband in the middle of her forehead then weaving it into her hair professionally when Lucy held up her Polaroid camera. "Is this a camera? It's in such a weird shape."

"It's an instant camera." Claire explained and took the device from her at the confused looks of the girls and the badger. "Here, I'll show you. Huddle around, the three of you." She then positioned her right eye in the view-finder after she could see the three in it. "One… two… three… Smile!"

_Snap!_

A canvas sheet with a dark middle slip out of the camera's slot slowly as Susan, Lucy and Trufflehunter marveled at the 'special abilities' of the camera. Claire took the picture and fanned it for several minutes until the picture of the three could be seen clearly.

Trufflehunter was amazed. "Wow, this is just like magic!"

"Eh, something like that, Truffle. Something like that." Claire said just as the door opened to reveal the two other Pevensies and the dark Telmarine Prince. Edmund strides into the room once the door opened followed swiftly by Caspian while Peter lingered at the doorway for a while before walking into the room and closing the door behind him.

Edmund took a seat beside Lucy and asked. "So what's this about magic I hear?"

Lucy brought up the camera and the developed picture quickly and turned to ramble to her brother about how magical and how quick the camera is at making pictures. Caspian then started whispering to Susan with the two holding eye contact then looking away and holding eye contact again. This infuriated Claire. _Why the hell must they be so shy when it's obvious the two are attracted to each other?_

"Darn sexual tension, Su." Claire whispered and rolled her eyes when she saw Susan blushing due to Caspian complimenting on how pretty she look with the new headband. Sighing loudly, Claire turned to Caspian and tapped him on his broad shoulders.

"So Caspian! I suppose you'll wanna speak with Su in a much quieter place?" Claire started and hopped off the bed without waiting for his reply. Then, she pulled the Prince and Queen by their hands and dragged them across the room, ignoring their protests as Claire opened the door and turned to the two. "Seeya, Su, Cas. Good luck Su, for whatever reasons you might need it for." Susan glared at Claire while Caspian simply looked amused at the new Queen's actions. "Bye!"

With that, Claire pushed the two out of the door quickly and shut the door when they were out of the room and in the hallway. She chuckled when she heard female grumblings from the other side of the door and made her way back onto Trufflehunter's bed. Silence hung in the room densely, as Lucy and Edmund continued rummaging through Claire's bag, ignoring the slight stiffness in the atmosphere. Trufflehunter faux-sniffed the air and turned to Claire with raised badger eyebrows. "Why does it smell like someone's poured tension in here?"

"I think your nose is getting a little too old, Trufflehunter." Claire said with a smile. She turned her head in Peter's direction slightly when she heard a throat clearing and saw him staring expectantly at her.

"Erm… can Claire step out with me for a moment?" Claire stiffened up and looked to Lucy for help. She waited for the youngest Pevensie to cook up an excuse as to why Claire will not be able to leave the room but only saw to her dismay that Lucy had given her approval for Claire to leave with Peter by waving her hand before returning to exploring her bag with Edmund.

"But of course, Your Majesty." The old badger had said, obviously not noticing the put out look on Claire's face.

"Fine." She muttered got up from the bed and walked to the door that was now held open by Peter. When they were both out of the room, Peter closed the door behind him gently and turned to see Claire poking the lit torch in its holder and hissing when she was burnt by the metal.

"Are you alright?"

Claire sucked on her burnt finger, hoping to stop the burning sensation. "Fine."

A nervous look flitted over Peter's face at the coldness of Claire's usually bubbly voice. He raised a hand and put it behind his neck awkwardly and turned his head to look at her. If he was not wise, he could have let out the surprised gasp at the sight in front of him. The bright moonlight shone into the corridor through the windows, casting a silvery glow on the How. Claire's face was basking in the light from the moon as it cast a perfect silvery spotlight on her face while a cool breeze blew past them, causing her long brown curls to flutter with the gentle wind. For the second time that day, Peter was stumped for words. He couldn't speak at the sight of how beautiful Claire looked under the moonlight and how he was afraid he'd start stuttering and made a complete fool out of himself.

"Yes?" Claire asked, eyeing the High King beside her. "I suppose you want to talk to me about something?"

Peter turned and faced the front quickly and nodded. "I just…" He stopped. What should he say? Sorry? Peter sighed in his mind and continued. "want to apologize about my behaviour just now."

Claire stopped in her tracks suddenly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh huh?"

"I'm… s-sorry." Peter stuttered and kicked himself mentally. He did not know it'd be _this _hard to just say that one word out loud to a girl who was simply right about telling him to cherish his own family. He had obviously struck a raw nerve when he shouted at Lucy about Aslan. "I didn't know it'll affect you that much."

Claire scoffed and replied in sarcasm. "Try getting separated from your family and then dropped into an unknown land. I'm sure it's not gonna affect you in any way." Claire let out a small sigh and closed her eyes to calm herself down. "It's alright. I was a bitch to you too."

Peter grinned when he saw the small smile on Claire's face. _Well, at least she's not angry with him anymore,_ he thought. "You've got every reason to, I think. You must miss them a lot."

The smile on her face faltered a little as she propped her elbows onto the ledge of the window. "A lot will be an understatement of the year, Peter." Another cool breeze blew through the window, sweeping Claire's hair against her face as she brushed them aside and tucked them behind her ears. "I miss my mom _so much_; I can actually smell her spaghetti in my dreams."

Peter chuckled lightly and nodded in understanding. He walked towards Claire and took the space beside her, looking out the window and over the peaceful night of the How. "I miss my mother too. Once in a while. But you'll learn to get used to it as time goes by here. For me, I got used to not being at home, helping my mother cope with the worry that my father was still engaged in the war." He turned to her with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you'll do just fine getting used to Narnia. And you've made so many great friends here."

At the mention of having great friends, Claire's mood lightened up noticeably. "I have to agree with you on that." She leaned her head onto Peter's shoulder, catching him by surprise with her little action as he stiffened up a little, but was not noticed by Claire as she continued putting her weight onto his shoulder. He knew it was a friendly action, one he had seen her doing on Edmund, but for some reason, it stirred up the butterflies in his stomach, causing them to flutter around wildly, zooming around in his system. "Anyways, regarding the raid on Miraz, what am I supposed to do?"

_Nothing,_ Peter thought as he shook his head. "You're not doing anything but stay in the How with Lucy."

Claire's head shot up from Peter's shoulder and nearly came into contact with his jaw. "What? _Why!_"

The High King refused to meet her confused face as he stared forward, looking at the full moon hanging against the dark backdrop. "It's safer this way."

Claire scoffed, for the third time that day. "How much safer can it get? I could probably trip and fall to my death here or I could go for the raid and help you guys with those Telmarines and yet, come out alive. Anyway, you taught me how to fight! It's not like I'm an idiot who doesn't know what swords are for."

Peter's eyes went hard. He was determined to not let Claire take part in the raid because it was far too dangerous for her. He was scared out of his wits when she was attacked by the Telmarines earlier today and vowed to keep her from harm's way after finding out Miraz is after her life to win the Revolution, since she played a major part in it. "You do know how to fight, but you're not skilled enough. Miraz's army is well trained in every prospect. And I am afraid they're even better skilled than some of our Narnians here." Peter sighed and confessed. "I just want to protect you."

Strangely enough, a smile broke out on Claire's face as she turned to face a flushing High King. "That's very nice of you, Peter." She reached up and fiddled with her headband before continuing. "Well, I guess I'll stay in the How with Lu until you come back, then."

"Anyways, you wouldn't be bored to tears in the How." Peter smiled as his light brown bangs fell into his eyes. "You could entertain Lucy with your magic."

Claire laughed lightly and pushed herself off of the ledge. "Whatever you say, Your Majesty. I'm going to bed now. It's been a _loooooooong_ day." She reached over and unexpectedly pecked Peter on his cheek lightly, sending a warm and fuzzy feeling expanding from the area her lips had touched his cheek to the tips of his toes. Peter shivered slightly at the new found feeling and gapped at Claire's sudden action. "Good night, Peter."

And with that, she left. Leaving a stunned Peter Pevensie behind her and feeling a whole lot better in her spirits, knowing the blushing someone will always be protecting her.

Like a knight in shining armor. _Figuratively._

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**reviews makes me really jolly!**


	7. Good Luck Lending

Here's a new one, lovely people :D

it's kinda like a filler.

but i wanted to write this for a loooooooong time.

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The bright orange flame from the lit torch licked the walls of the stone hall every now and then when a small breeze passes through the crowd. The Pevensies, Caspian and warriors of Narnia were gathered in the hall to plan the coming night raid on Miraz's Castle, tonight.

"So Edmund, you will fly into the castle first and use your flashlight as a sign for us to enter when the coast is clear." Peter said with finality, confirming the procedures for the sudden attack.

Edmund nodded. "I'll flash the light on and off when the coast is clear for you people to enter."

"Right, once Edmund shows us the coast is clear sign, Susan, Caspian and I will enter first through the air to help open the gates for you." Peter said loudly with a voice of commandment that overtook the entire stone hall. "Meanwhile, Glenstorm, you will lead the group forward, nearer to the castle."

Peter then turned to Reepicheep and his mouse friends. "By then, Reepicheep, you and your pack will open the bridge leading into the castle. And when the gate and bridge is accessible, Edmund will flash the light again and Glenstorm, you will lead the group into the castle.

With a smirk, Peter finished. "And by then, we will _kill _every Telmarine we see."

Cheers from the Narnians erupted at what they thought was the foolproof plan which would ensure an absolute success. But little did they know…

**--**

Claire White and Lucy Pevensie sat on the open stone platform of the How that allowed whoever who stands on it a panoramic view of the entire area. They had been there all morning when Peter gathered the Narnians for the raid's planning and refused to allow Lucy and Claire in, for fear of them finding some way to sneak into the raid. At this, Claire couldn't help but roll her eyes at his protectiveness.

_Protectiveness._ The word instinctively brought back the words Peter had told her the night before. _'I just want to protect you.'_ Simply thinking about it brought a small smile to Claire's face which Lucy sent her two raised eyebrows for.

"What in Aslan's name are you smiling about?" Lucy frowned. "I can't even bring myself to smile even though you just sang a song to me."

Claire's smile faltered as she understood Lucy's sudden melancholy. "Oh… don't worry that much, Lu. I'm sure they're gonna do just fine tonight. Your siblings are very good warriors, as are the Narnian beasts." Claire patted Lucy's hand and adjusted the guitar on her lap.

Lucy nodded sadly. "I know they're great fighters." Her hand went to the healing cordial on her waist belt and sighed. "But who knew what could happen to them if a Telmarine soldier sneaks up on them while they're busy with the other enemies? If I'm allowed to go with them, I could probably save them with the potion."

Claire smiled at Lucy's concern for her family. "Yes, that's true. But try putting yourself in their shoes – if you're the one who got hurt or even killed during the raid, how do you think your brothers and sister will feel?" Lucy looked up into Claire's deep blue orbs with wide eyes. She never did think of that possibility. The young Pevensie's thought always revolved around saving others, but the idea of her dying in a battle and her family's emotions never did occur to her.

"I'm sure they will think it is their fault. Especially Peter. Being the High King of Narnia, he is subject to making wise decisions for the goodwill of his people. If you got hurt because he allowed you into the raid, he _will_ deem himself unfit to be a King and probably end up abandoning himself because of the guilt and the idea that he can not even protect his own family, needless to say, a whole Kingdom." Claire explained. She had seen this predicament in many others and knew very well how emotions are so often toyed by wrong decisions and personal guilt. _Guilt is just an unnecessary part of man's mentality._

"They're just trying to protect you, Lu. Like how everyone going for the raid is trying to protect anyone remaining in the How." Lucy looked up into Claire's sparkling eyes. "Most importantly, they're doing what they are doing because they love us."

Lucy nodded and smiled at Claire's extraordinary explanation. She bounced up from her seat and swept Claire into a hug, catching her by surprise until she returned it, patting her back on her back lightly. "You are amazing, you know that?"

"I've been told." She smirked and received a playful shove from Lucy.

"I'm gonna go see them now." Lucy said as she got up from the platform. "Are you coming along?"

Claire shook her head and waved the young girl off, seeing that she needed this little time alone with her family. "Alright then. I'll see you later, Claire." Lucy said as she disappeared into the hallways.

Cautiously, Claire swing her feet over the edge of the stone surface she is sitting on and positioned her guitar on her lap. The light green material of her dress fluttered with the motion of the breeze as the sun shone down on the How with bright golden rays, lighting up the grass and giving it a lush green colour. Turning her head away from the breathtaking scenery in front of her, Claire looked down at her guitar and strummed a couple of notes and parts of the songs she had learned from Phyllis, whose mom is a guitar teacher. Moments passed as Claire continued her strumming, so concentrated in it that she failed to notice the High King of Narnia standing behind her, watching her.

Peter walked towards Claire quietly, not wanting to distract her from making the music that was soothing to his ears. But try as he may, the Narnian King failed when he stepped on a branch and snapping it into half with a loud crunch. The sudden noise caused Claire's head to shoot up from her guitar and immediately, turned around and nearly twisting her neck in the midst of doing it.

Claire looked at the sheepishly smiling Peter and sighed in relief. "Hey, it's you."

"Am I interrupting you?"

"Nope." Claire said and moved her guitar case away from the spot Lucy was occupying moments before. "Here, have a seat, Oh Majestic King."

Peter smiled and playing along, he bowed regally. "As you wish, Oh beautiful Queen."

Claire blushed even though she knew Peter was only playing with her. "The gathering's ended, I suppose?"

"Yes." Peter peered over the edge of the platform before putting his legs on the edge, like how Claire did. "Lucy ran to us immediately after the meeting and went on and on about how she's finally alright with us leaving her in the How. Hasn't she been alright with it all along?"

"_Nooooo_?" Claire rolled her eyes. "She is _very_ worried about you guys. Grumbled to me about how you leaving her here was a major mistake. But somehow I changed her view on everything." She turned to Peter and smiled. "I kinda put you in as part of the explanation."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're the one who said that leaving us here was protecting us, isn't it?" Claire smiled and places her guitar in Peter's lap as he held onto it tightly; looking as though he was worried that he could somehow drop the instrument.

"Well… since I can't go with you people…" Claire reached behind her neck and unclasps the necklace she has always been wearing. Then, she held onto Peter's wrist and places the piece of jewelry onto his palm. A single gold heart charm hung in the middle of the necklace as it glimmers under the bright sunlight.

"What're you doing?"

"Lending you my good luck?" Instead of wearing it, Peter picked up the silver chain and hands it back to Claire, shaking his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It's _your_ luck after all."

"Oh, _what the hell_." Claire muttered and pulled the necklace down Peter's head forcefully. "I know it's mine. I'm simply _lending_ it you." She then took the guitar away from Peter and puts it back into her case gently. "You have to return it to me when you get back."

"So… you better make it back alive." Claire said with a smile and stood up from the dusty platform. "I'm gonna be wanting that necklace back."

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	8. After The Raid

Thanks for the awesome reviews guys!  
Here's one dedicated to you all!

_Disclaimer: You know..._

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Lucy Pevensie turns to the sixteen year old brunette beside her with a worried look. "How do you think they're doing? It's already daybreak. They should have been back hours ago!"

"Trust me, Lucy." Claire White said, leaning against the broken stone table and twirling the handle of the knife on the floor. "I'm sure they're doing just fine."

The two girls had stayed up _all_ night ever since the Narnian army had gone out for the night raid on Miraz's castle. Both tried hard to find sleep, but sleep simply dodged them like plaque, until Claire finally dozed off for a little while. Both Lucy and Claire looked up at the sounds of thundering footfalls nearing them to see a female centaur, Glenstorm's wife, Windmane.

"Your Majesties, the army has returned." The female centaur rose from her rushed bow and watched as the two Queens started a dash for the door. Lucy and Claire cantered through the numerous tunnels of the How and ran out of the How as they see the army making their way back to the How.

_Actually, only half the army is making their way back to the ruins._

Claire stood beside Trufflehunter at the sight of the half-gone army and gapped while Lucy took a few steps forward. Claire locked eyes with a frowning Peter, but he broke the eye contact a few seconds later and went to burning deep holes into the ground.

"What happened?" Lucy asked with a pained expression.

Peter looked up at Lucy and then at Caspian, with a hard glare in his light blue eyes. "Ask him." He said in a bitter tone, nodding his head towards the Telmarine Prince.

"Peter." Susan called in a warning tone just as Claire walked up to Lucy and stood beside her.

"Me?" Caspian stopped in his tracks and turned to the High King of Narnia. "You could have called it off, there was still time."

"No there wasn't, thanks to you." Peter pointed an accusing finger at Caspian and spat bitterly. "If you kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive, right now."

Caspian's jaw clenched in anger, sadness and guilt. "Well, if you just stayed here like I suggest, they definitely would be."

Peter narrowed his eyes in fury. "You called us, remember?!"

"My first mistake."

Peter shook his head. "No." Peter stalked away from the angry Prince and said. "Your first mistake is thinking you could lead these people."

"_HEY!_"

Caspian's angry bellow echoed through the ancient ruins of Aslan as Peter wheeled around stiffly and stared at the Prince in the eyes, hard. A visible vein was throbbing on Caspian's neck as his eyes turned a shade darker, turning them from the warm brown colour to a dark and foreboding shade.

"I am _not _the one who abandoned Narnia." Caspian gritted out.

"You _invaded_ Narnia." Peter walked back to Caspian again, but was pushed away forcefully. "You have no more right leading than Miraz does."

"_You and your father,_" Peter shouted as Caspian froze in his wake and a blank look wash over his face. "Narnia's better off without the lot of you."

Peter's accusation of Caspian and his father seemed to strike a raw nerve in the young Telmarine Prince as he gave a roar of anger and drew his sword, pointing it at Peter, who too drew his sword. Gasps of surprise sounded out as the two young royalties stared at each other, dead in the eyes, seemingly having a silent eye battle.

"Lucy!" Edmund called for his little sister as he help an injured Trumpkin off of Glenstorm's back. Lucy gasped and ran forward immediately, pushing past Peter and Caspian apart roughly.

On the other hand, Claire walked up to the two hot-headed men as they lowered their swords and looked at the disappointed girl in front of them.

"Seriously, you two!" Claire shook her head in disappointment as she spoke with her slight accent. "Fighting and not to mention_ insulting_ each other in front of your people who hold you in high regards and respect? How old are you? _Seven?_" Claire scoffed as Caspian hung his head in shame. Peter looked into Claire's disappointed blue orbs and felt tonnes of bricks falling onto his heart, weighing it down painfully.

"I never thought I'd actually be reprimanding two kings like a freaky grandmother. _Damn._" Claire murmured as she saw a young centaur hugging his crying mother. Her heart clenched painfully at the sight of the mourning young Narnians who had lost their family in the raid. Tears burned her eyes as she turned to Peter and Caspian had now sheathed their swords.

"So what if half our army's gone?" Claire reasoned softly and motioned to the surviving Narnians trailing behind them. "We've still got the _other _half! We still have to win this war. We still have to kick Miraz's butt. And we _definitely_ have to snatch back our land and give these young Narnians back their homes! So what's the point of having to waste your time and energy showering each other with such enmity when you could have used it to work out a better plan and save everyone?"

"Claire's right." Trufflehunter walked up to the sensible teenager and piped up. "Our comrades died to reclaim their freedom for their families and friends. What we should be doing now is to heal up and get ready for the next bigger battle, not waste our time yelling at each other and let the dead Narnians lose their lives in vain." Trufflehunter then turned to the rest of the Narnians and called out. "Come on, fellow friends; let's get into the How and help the injured first!"

Claire watched on as all the creatures moved back into the How before turning on Peter. The High King was a head taller than her, so when she turned around, her eyes met the bloody mess on his left arm.

"You're bleeding." Claire stated bluntly while Peter look down at his gushing wound. He looked up to see Claire starring at his wound in concern before her concerned eyes turned to meet his own ones, captivating him with the her startling shade of blue. Claire sighed softly and pulled Peter on his uninjured arm, directing him into the How. "Come on, we have to get you cleaned up before infection steps in."

**--**

"_Argh!_" Peter yelled when Claire slapped the foul-smelling herb concoction Tia-Bael had made for Peter on his open wound. The pain upon the contact of the herb on his open flesh left Peter screaming inside as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry." Claire mumbled as she slaps a spoonful more of the dark green mixture onto Peter's arm. Now, the High King's forearm is covered with the paste, making Peter cringe at its ghastly smell.

Claire was thankful for the first-aid course her mother had put her through two years ago, saying how the tips on bandaging, stitching and CPR are essential for someone like her – someone who is always getting hurt. A part of Claire misses her mother greatly at the memories of the fun times she had as she took the bandage from the large oak table where a couple of healers were helping with the casualties and started on bandaging Peter's arm slowly. Each round she made around his burly limb, Claire would catch a glimpse of Peter's glassy eyes, burning holes into a spot on the wall.

"Stop it." Claire snapped. She cut off the bandage with her knife and placed the roll of bandage back onto the table.

"Stop wha- _Ouch!_" Claire had interrupted Peter by tying a tight knot, adding pressure to his wound. He flinched and pulled his arm away from her, cradling it in his arm. "Watch it, will you?!"

"Stop blaming yourself." Claire whispered looking down at the grime-filled floor. Her dark bangs created a curtain in front of her face, blocking her eyes out of Peter's sight.

Her words stung Peter. He was exhausted, drained and in pain from the aftermath of the raid. Not to mention, a growing guilt was evident in Peter's heart as he thought about his dead comrades, letting the last memory of them play continuously in his mind. Images of the Narnians being trapped inside the castle, knowing they had no chance of survival flashed before Peter's eyes like a never-ending movie.

Even though the Narnians were stuck in the dreaded place and had no chance of escaping, they never did lose their persevering courage. The Minotaurs, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Fauns Satyrs and Giants refused to hand in their life without putting up a good fight against the enemies. And for the first time in a long time, Peter's eyes welled up with tears. He had witnessed his people getting humiliated by the Telmarines, taunting and laughing at them before killing them. And worst of all, he had to witness Glenstorm, his loyal companion give up his two sons, watching the immense grief in the Centaur's eyes.

With a grunt, Peter turned away from Claire and took interest in whatever was on the wall beside him. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Claire laid a gentle hand on Peter's arm and sighed. "You're blaming yourself. For the Narnians' death. It's really not your fault, Peter. No on-"

Peter turned his head back to Claire harshly and gritted out. "Do not tell me their death isn't the cause of my doing, Claire." He pulled his hand away from her soft grip. "You have no idea what I am feeling, so stop acting like you do. You can go spread your words of comfort to others, Claire. _Just stay away from me, leave me alone._"

Claire's hand hung in the air where she had been holding Peter's hand, feeling like she had just been slapped on the cheek by Peter. She was not expecting Peter's reaction to be like that. She was shocked that Peter had just spoken to her in such a vile tone, sounding like she was nothing but a nuisance to him.

_Perhaps he's right, I'm just a useless busybody,_ Claire thought. _I'm a nobody here, and even Peter's told me to leave him alone._

Claire concluded it was time to take her leave as she gathered her things silently and stood up. What she did next shocked not even herself, but Peter. Like any other Narnian, she bowed.

She bowed to Peter lowly and whispered in a near audible voice. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, _Your Majesty_. I'll take my leave now."

With that, Claire walked away with her head hung low as Peter propped his elbows on his knees and groaned into his palm.

_Whack!_

Peter looked up sharply into the faces of the three other Pevensies and scowled. His hand shot up to the throbbing area on his head and spat at the younger Pevensies. "What in Aslan's name are you doing?"

Lucy planted her hands on her hips and glowered at the High King. "You are such an idiot, Peter!"

"And I am agreeing with Lucy." Susan added in with a frown. "Why did you tell her to leave you alone?! She was simply trying to make you feel better, Pete."

Edmund bent low to observe the black mixture belonging to one of the injured Centaurs. "Apologize to her, Pete."

_Trust Ed to come up with the most useful words to say, _Peter thought as he stood up from his seat and walked in the direction where he had seen Claire walked in moments before.

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**reviews!**


	9. A Saving Kiss

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, GUYS!**  
they make me so happy!

So, here's another chapter for you :D

_It's kinda sucky near the last part of the chapter cause I was feeling really drowsy when I was finishing it _:X  
_The movie-verse dialogue could be wrong too, cause the video I watch it from is kinda unclear in this part.  
Feel free to correct me, though :D_

Hope you like it ((:

**xx.**

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Claire White grumbled under her breath as she kicked a loose stone in her aimless stroll around the How. It was the first time since she had arrived in Narnia that she felt unwelcomed, and wanted to go home, badly. She missed her family and she was disgruntled at the fact that _'Peter-the-petty-King' _as Claire had so affectionately named him, wanted her to leave him alone.

_Leave him alone. _

She was disturbed – terribly, _terribly_ disturbed that Peter was annoyed and even angry with her. But she did not know why she cared so much about how Peter felt about her. Claire knew she cared about what Peter says, but she never knew she'd care _that_ much. That 'care' for Peter's words and thoughts became increasingly important to her. It was so important to her now, she couldn't help but want to butt into his feelings and know how he feels.

_Claire thought she was going crazy. _Now, she couldn't stand sitting beside Peter for the butterflies and what nots in her would zoom around madly, making her feel queasy and sick. Her blushing moments became increasingly common, and it will happen just by looking at Peter with his lightish brown hair falling into those magnificent pair of blue ey-

_You get the drift._

"Stupid Claire!" She slapped herself hard on her forehead. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid_. How did I even e-"

"The Kings and Queens have failed us." Claire looked up on hearing the familiar voice and scanned around the dark hallways to see who was talking. The hallway was empty apart from her, so she continued walking, following the source of the voice, and realizing that it came from the Hall of the Stone Table. "Your army's half dead."

Claire hid behind a wall and peeked in carefully, holding onto her knives that were clanging with every motion she made. "And the numbers will be gone soon enough."

Nikabrik, the red-bearded dwarf walked towards Caspian slowly, making his feet create 'thud-ing' noises against the sandy ground. Caspian turned towards the dwarf that threatened to kill him when he first met him and said, "What do you want?"

Nikabrik eyed the young and naïve prince and instead of answering his questions, the dwarf answered Caspian's wants. "You want your uncle's blood? So do we. You want his throne? We can take it for you."

With that, Nikabrik walked off, leaving Caspian to contemplate before following Nikabrik to wherever he is going. Having always been an 'act first and think later' girl, Claire followed after the two quietly, making sure she was perfectly out of their sight.

Nikabrik and Caspian were now on the steps, walking towards the stone table as Claire hid behind a pillar. Nikabrik turned to Prince and said, "You tried using the horn's power, it failed." They stopped as the dwarf look at the Prince with a glint in his beady eyes. "But there is a power greater still. One that kept even Aslan at bay for a hundred years."

Grunting noises were heard from the darkness in front of Caspian, so out of precaution, he drew his sword and held it in front of him, preparing himself for any sudden attack. One can never be too careful with people or dwarfs to be exact, like Nikabrik who doubted his presence and abilities to lead when he had first met him. Caspian wanted to succeed in leading his people for the battle, wanted to impress Susan and show her he wasn't a coward like what her brother, Peter think he is, even if it meant trusting and following the words of that dwarf who never seem to have a good heart in him.

Caspian squinted into dark abyss and tensed. "Who's there?"

The grunting and loud breathing persisted, sending shudders up and down Claire's spine as she continued spying on the two. She waited with batted breath when two cloaked figures stepped into the light from the glowing fire and eyed Caspian. They slowly made their way towards Caspian while pulling back their oversized hoods, revealing their true form to Caspian. Claire stifled a gasp at the monstrosity of the two creatures' looks. They were the creatures who were exiled from the land of Narnia and whose species killed her ancestor, Queen Helen the Kind, Narnia's first Queen.

_The Hag and the Werewolf. Loyal followers of Jadis, the White Queen, _as Claire recalled Trufflehunter's brief but important characteristic of them.

A rhythmic drumming resounded through the huge cavern as the Hag started a sort of chant in an unknown language. Her shrill and whiny voice was torture to the ears as she gave a shriek every now and then, causing Claire to cringe on hearing it. The Hag, Werewolf and Nikabrik circled Caspian like hungry predators waiting to kill their prey on the next move. The grotesque looking Hag drew a perfect circle around Caspian with her long and black talon before her dance started to get more vigorous as she hopped around with a spear in her hand.

The Hag, whose features resembled a wrinkled bald eagle to Claire raises the spear high above her head and shriek again, calling out what seems to be the final part of the chant as she pushed the spear down and pierced it onto the ground with a last shriek. A bright blue crystal started forming from the bottom of the spear, slowly spreading up the length of the weapon as the ice like structure coagulates on the arch in front of Aslan's picture. Claire unknowingly stepped out from her hiding place and gapped at the display of sorcery in front of her. The ice like block seemed to radiate a form of harsh coldness in the entire hall, causing Claire to shiver at the immense drop in the temperature.

A translucent figure appeared in the block and it did not take Claire twice to recognize who it was. Or more precisely, who _she_ was.

Caspian started backing away when realization hit him like a face-on collision. "Wait, this isn't what I wanted."

Backing off, Caspian was held back by the werewolf tightly and was forcibly made to stretch out his arm for the evil Queen who once turned Narnia into an everlasting land of snow. The icy strands of Jadis, the White Witch's hair moved stiffly in the block of ice as she spoke, watching Caspian with menace. "One drop of Adam's blood, you'll free me. And I'm yours, My King."

Caspian struggled against the werewolf, whose tight grip made it difficult for him to escape. The Hag then drew a small, rusty knife and cut it along Caspian's palm, drawing blood with every second. A thin long line of red liquid glistened under the firelight as Caspian drew a sharp breath of pain.

"No!" Caspian shouted as he cringed at the intense burning sensation on his palm. Jadis' hand stretched out from the block of ice she was entrapped in and Claire watched as the vicious Witch reached out for Caspian's bleeding palm.

"Caspian! _Let go of him!_" Claire ran towards the Prince with her knives held tightly in her hands. She charged towards the group, alone, other than her weapons as Nikabrik ran forward since the werewolf and the Hag were busy.

"Oh no you don't!" Nikabrik snarled and charged headfirst into Claire, knocking her over instantly. The red-bearded dwarf had a huge amount of strength for someone his height. Claire lost her grip on her knives upon the contact of the collision and fell to the ground, scraping her elbows against the grainy sands.

"G-get away from m-me…" Nikabrik jumped onto the poor girl and kept a death grip on Claire's neck, stopping her oxygen flow almost immediately as she struggled against the dwarf to no avail. "I c-can't br-breathe!" Her lungs fought for air as her windpipe was getting increasingly crushed by Nikabrik's tight hold on them, constricting the narrow tube with every ounce of strength he put in. Claire struggled, clawed, kicked and threw blind punches, but the dwarf was simply not removing his death-grip on her neck as he continued to cut off her oxygen intake and suffocate her slowly but surely.

Claire continued her intense clawing at Nikabrik's hands just as her vision began to grow increasingly blur. She turned her head to the side and watched as Caspian held out his hand willingly while the White Witch tempted him with her rough, icy voice. Claire's heart pounded fiercely against her chest and felt her contact with the world slowly slip away from her along with her darkening vision.

Claire had expected herself to die on the battlefield while fighting to claim back the Narnians' freedom by a tall and dangerous Telmarine soldier, not in the hands of some grumpy, old dwarf whose height was _nearly_ half of Claire's. She clawed weakly at Nikabrik's hand one last time before her slender fingers slipped away and fell onto the ground as darkness took over her.

Footsteps thundered into the Hall of the Stone Table as Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Trumpkin charged into the Hall, watching in horror at the scene that was unfolding in front of them. Peter and Edmund ran towards the Hag and the werewolf respectively with their swords drawn out in front of them, ready to kill the dark creatures.

"Claire!" Lucy's cry drew Peter and Edmund's attention as they turned to the figure lying under Nikabrik. Their attention was drawn only briefly when the Hag and werewolf charged at the Kings of Old, howling angrily at the interruption. Trumpkin ran towards Nikabrik and with his body, he shoved the traitor off of Claire's body as they rolled on the ground with dust particles floating around them. Nikabrik took out his knife and neared Trumpkin, ready to kill him when his weapon was kicked out of his hand and found to his surprise, a dagger at his neck, threatening to kill him anytime soon.

"Ahhh!" Lucy's loud shriek reverberated through the cavern when Nikabrik flipped the young Queen around swiftly and pulled painfully on her hair before grabbing the dagger from her hand. Lucy fell flat onto the ground and started to move back with her elbows when Nikabrik neared her, holding her dagger high above his head in a striking position. Just then, the sound of metal tearing at raw flesh sounded out as Nikabrik lifted his head and dropped onto the ground, dead. Lucy looked up to see Trumpkin holding the dead dwarf's dagger before she rushed over to help revive the unconscious girl.

"Come on, come on." Jadis urged as she hypnotized Caspian into giving her his blood. Peter looked between the unconscious Claire and the close proximity between Jadis before deciding to stop the White Witch from getting resurrected.

He ran up to Caspian and pushed him away roughly. "Get away from him!"

Jadis reclined back into the ice block and smiled at the High King sweetly yet completely fakely. She whispered in a tempting tone. "Peter dear. I've missed you." She stretched out her hand once again. "Come, just one drop. You know you can't do this alone."

_Don't succumb to her, Peter. Do not succumb to her. She's just tempting you. _

Even with the rational reminders Peter was repeating in his mind, he couldn't help but lower his sword gradually when he stared into Jadis' pale eyes.

_Maybe she's right. You can't do this alone, Peter. I'm sure a drop wouldn't hurt. A drop for the Narnians. A drop to protect Lucy. Edmund. Susan. Claire._

Lower and lower went Peter's sword as he slowly caved in and started to stretch his hand out to Jadis. But just as Jadis and Peter's hands were about to come into contact, a slashing sound was heard as the middle of the White Witch's ice started to crack.

Jadis retracted her hand and stared at the expanding crack in confusion and gave a cry. "Ugh!"

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the block of ice shattered with the huge blocks of debris falling onto the ground with a deafening sound as Peter and Caspian bent down for cover.

There, on the other side of the arch was Edmund, standing with his sword held above his head. He had struck the ice with his sword, causing it to crack and shatter, saving Peter for what was the second time. "I know," He started as Peter looked at him. "You had it sorted."

Seeing that the White Witch was destroyed, Lucy called for her older brother when she tried but failed to revive Claire. "Peter! Claire's not waking up!"

Peter and Edmund rushed towards their sister while Caspian stayed rooted on the spot, feeling much too embarrassed to face the Pevensies after what he had done. When he looked up, however, his eyes met those of Susan's, as she gave him a disappointing look.

Caspian's heart wrenched in pain. Indescribable pain. The look Susan had given her was enough to kill him. _He had failed her. _Without a sound, Caspian walked out of the cavern, having feel like

"Claire." Peter whispered, kneeling down beside the girl. Her face was of the palest shade ever, and her sparkling blue eyes were hidden behind her closed eyelids. The finger marks on her slender neck stirred up an unknown hatred for the dwarf just as Susan joined them, staring in shock at Claire's motionless figure.

Panicked tears slid down Lucy's face. "I've fed her the healing potion, Peter. But she's not swallowing it. It's stuck in her throat!"

"Try pumping air into her throat, Your Majesty." Trumpkin suggested, frowning sadly at Claire's state. "It could be constricted by Nikabrik when he was strangling her, so the potion can't flow down."

Without a second word, Peter took in a deep breath and pressed his mouth onto Claire's cold and pale lips. He did not expect his first kiss with any girl was given to save her. Peter quivered at the abnormal coldness of her lips before blowing air into her mouth, hoping to open up her constricted windpipe. After that breath, he tried again. _Once. Twice. Thrice. _

"Come on, Claire." Peter mumbled as he met Claire's lips for the fourth time, blowing air into her. He was in hysterics right now, something which Edmund and Lucy had only seen when Edmund was stabbed by Jadis on their first battle in Narnia. It was hard to see the High King of Narnia panicking and he only did when people he cared for were hurt. Peter was trembling badly, judging by the way his hands shivered and his face was of the palest white.

Peter moved in for another attempt when he was held back by Edmund's hand. "Wait, Pete… look…"

Everyone watched as Claire's mouth opened a little and almost too quickly, she broke out into fits of cough while attempting to take in as much of the deprived air as she could. Her eyes shot wide open once the potion was in her system and almost immediately, she coughed and sputtered and tried to take in more oxygen at the same time, making her choke more.

"Slow down, Claire." Edmund said as he pushed her into a sitting position. "There's enough air for everyone."

"You gave us such a big scare!" Lucy exclaimed, pulling Claire into a tight and bone-crushing hug that she had no idea a petite young girl like Lucy was capable of giving.

"L-Lu…" Claire's tone was raspy from the abuse her throat underwent moments before.

"I thought you were going to die!" Lucy continued exclaiming, not catching the hint that her hug was choking her.

"Can't… breathe!" Claire mumbled.

Peter pulled the two girls apart when he saw the pained look on Claire's face. "Lucy! You're crushing her!"

"I'm so sorry!" Lucy apologized with a sheepish look. Claire shook her head and winced when she brought a hand up to touch her neck.

"Come on." Trumpkin said. "Let's get you to the healer for those marks, Your Majesty."

Susan nodded in agreement and helped Claire up carefully just as she swayed dangerously on the spot, but was caught by Peter who held onto her arms.

A burning blush crept up Claire's pale face as she muttered a quiet 'thanks' before she was helped away by Claire to see Tia-Bael by Susan.

Truthfully speaking, Peter was slightly miffed at Susan for rushing Claire to the healer before he had any chance to speak to her. To apologize. But it seems all this had to wait. Everyone followed after the two while Peter stayed behind, staring at the sculpture of Aslan on the wall. He sat on the ground, leaning against the broken stone table and caught the eyes of Claire just before she turned the corner, catching an obvious glimpse of sadness in it.

Peter sighed. _Everything was just not going right for him._

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	10. Revelations

This is gonna be a really sappy chapter,  
Ye being warn'd!

and major, major, major thanks to the reviewers!

keep commenting! i love to know what you guys feel about my story :D

**xx.**

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Numerous thoughts ran through Peter Pevensie's head as he leaned against the broken stone table, watching the bright orange flames lick the bottom of Aslan's wall carving. Peter's fists were clenched on his side, as he continued staring at the image of Aslan, hoping and hoping that something will show; something that could tell Peter what to do.

He needed some guidance from the great King of Narnia, but Aslan just wasn't here to advice him like how he used to when Peter first stepped foot into Narnia.

He couldn't figure out why his siblings and him were once again, pulled back into the magical world of Narnia. Was his purpose here to save the people? Or was it simply because Aslan was fulfilling his want of coming back to the land to be away from the cruelty of Earth? Peter did not know. He was too blinded with being the High King and wanting to lead that he had not thought of what his purpose here was. Simply put, Peter was just being an arrogant, self-centered King who doesn't listen to others because he thought he was right; he was always right.

Peter's fists slackened when the image of Claire's disappointed face flashed across his mind, forcing him to reel at the sadness behind the beautiful deep blue shade of her eyes. He had failed the Narnians, his siblings. But most importantly, to Peter, he had failed Claire. For what reason he did not know, but he just failed like he had disappointed her like how he had let the whole of Narnia down.

A set of light footsteps echoed through the vast silence of the cavern and Peter did not have to look up to know that it was Lucy. Her footsteps were always light, unlike Peter, whose footsteps are much heavier.

He felt Lucy took a place beside him quietly. "How can you know?"

Lucy turned to him and frowned lightly in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You've seen him," Peter said. "I wish he'd just give us some sort of proof."

"Maybe we're the ones who have to open ourselves to him." Lucy said and patted her brother on the arm lightly, comfortingly.

Another set of footsteps came trotting into the cavern as Edmund came into sight with a flustered face. "Pete?" Peter and Lucy turned to him and immediately, they knew something was wrong by the look on Edmund's face. "You better come quickly."

The three made for a jog stone platform that overlooked the whole How and found Claire, Susan, Caspian, Trumpkin, Glenstorm and Doctor Cornelius gathered there already. The Narnian beasts were gathered at the front of the How, watching on in horror, like their leaders.

There, right in the distant forests of Aslan's How were the Telmarine troops, marching in unison towards the How. Peter's heart raced. It was time.

_For war._

Claire looked on at the nearing troops and noticed the way in which they moved so harmoniously and couldn't help but think what will happen if she had pelted on of them with a stone.

"Guys," Claire said, catching the immediate attention of Peter since he was standing dangerously close to her. "Not trying to spoil the mood or anything, but what do you think will happen if I stone one of the idiots?"

Edmund smirked. "You can try."

"Alright then." Claire bent down and picked up a rock from the ground before spreading her legs a little wider, preparing to aim at a soldier in the middle of the metal pack like how she did when she was playing baseball with her father.

"I don't think that's a very good idea." Susan said, afraid of what the Telmarines will do if they had hurt one of their soldiers.

"I'll just hit one. You never know if you never try." Claire said as she reached back and threw the stone towards one of the soldiers in which she had her aim on, with all her might.

_Clunk!_

The soldier who was pelted on the head by the rock fell down in pain, and was stampeded by the rest of the troops as they continued marching towards the How, obviously not distracted by the slight interruption.

Claire winced at the thought of being stepped over a million metal boots. "_Oops!_ I'm sorry!" She then turned to Lucy who was giggling at the sight and smiled brightly. "Well, at least we know the Telmarines aren't that easily distracted."

Without a word, Peter turned and left, leading the whole group towards a much smaller cavern where they could figure out a plan to tackle the urging matter at hand.

**--**

"-That's your next big plan?" Trumpkin said in disbelief. "Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest? Alone?"

Claire stood beside the Bulgy Bear that was now sucking his paw while listening in on the plan. If the situation wasn't that serious, she could have burst out laughing at the irony that a scary looking bear was actually sucking his paw like a toddler.

Peter scowled. "It's our only chance."

"And she won't be alone." Susan said, catching the attention of Caspian as the Prince's head shot to her immediately.

Trumpkin walked up to Lucy with an anguish look marring his face. "Haven't enough of us died already?"

"Nikabrik was my friend too." Trufflehunter said from his spot in front of Edmund. "But he lost hope. Queen Lucy hasn't. And neither have I."

Reepicheep drew his sword regally and placed it over his brought it over his heart. "For Aslan."

Claire watched in surprise as the kind bear removed his paw from his mouth and placed it over his heart like how Reepicheep had done with his rapier and declared in a low and gruffly voice. "For Aslan." She smiled at the creature's loyalty and turned to Peter as they made a brief eye contact, sending numbing waves through the veins of both.

Trumpkin look at Lucy and said in a determined tone. "And I'm going with you."

Lucy shook her head and placed one of her hands on Trumpkin's shoulder lightly, smiling at the concerned dwarf. "No. They need you here."

"We have to hold them off until Lucy and Susan gets back." Peter said, looking at anyone for suggestion. Anyone except Claire.

"If I may." Caspian announced and turned to his professor for his approval before standing up and walking towards Peter. "Miraz, maybe be a tyrant and a murderer,"

"Not to mention, a complete pain in our asses." Claire muttered quietly as she watched Caspian walk into the bright light supported by the torches on the wall.

"But as king, he is subject to the traditions and expectations of his people." Caspian looked at Susan's worried face and back at Peter. "There is one in particular that may buy us some time."

The Narnian creatures remained quietly, knowing what the only way was while Lucy spoke up, apparently knowing nothing of the Telmarine culture. "What is it?"

"A duel." Caspian said. "_To death._"

"You're crazy!" Susan exclaimed, walking up to the center table. "It's far too dangerous, I won't allow it!"

Peter shot the Narnian Queen a look and nodded at Caspian's suggestion. "If it can help stall the time until they get back, I'll do it."

Susan shook her head. "No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I said no, Peter!" Susan yelled; banging her hand on the stone made table in frustration, allowing the sound to reverberate through the silent room like a crack in the night. Queen Susan the Gentle was no longer in her gentle nature, but in a state of worry for her family.

"You're going to get killed! Haven't you known that Miraz will stop at nothing to get us dead?" Unshed tears glistened in Susan's blue eyes as she looked at her older brother in nothing but love for her family.

Claire, having heard enough of their banter stood up, took a deep breath and raises her hand. "_I'll go._"

Trufflehunter stepped up to her. "What?"

"I said, I'll go." Claire repeated, putting her hand back to her side as she walked up to the center table too. "Fight Miraz in that duel thing, I mean."

A blanket of silence covered the whole cavern as everyone looked at Claire in surprise. She brushed her bangs away from her eyes and sighed. "I'm not as important as you guys in this war." She looked down at the table and up at Peter. "Peter, Edmund and Caspian have battle experiences so they can lead the armies, I don't. Lucy and Susan will be going into the forest for Aslan, but I'm not. So apart from everyone else, I'm the only one available who isn't important for leading the war but has the status that allows me to kick Miraz's butt in the duel."

She turned to everyone in the room and shrugged. "I can hold him off by making him run around if he so happens to knock the sword out of my hands. I'm sure he'll be tired somehow, he's old."

A tense silence hung over the entire gathering like a dark cloud when no one laughed at the pathetic joke Claire had come up with to lessen the tension in the air. It was then at the point when Claire was about to ask for a response when Peter had chosen to speak. "No."

Claire turned her head sharply to Peter and scowled. "Don't get me started like how Susan did. I'm going and that's that."

Peter shook his head and replied in a firm and determined tone. "You're _not_ going, and that's final."

Anger reared its ugly head inside Claire's blues eyes as she narrowed her eyes at Peter. "_What _makes you think what you're saying is final?"

Peter took a step forward and clenched his jaw tightly. "I am the High King of Narnia and you're _just _a Queen in this land. In all due situations, everyone have to listen to me, including you, even if you don't want to."

Claire refused to back down, even though his sharp words were cutting into her heart like a knife. "Well then, as the High King, I suppose you'd have thought that you are needed to lead your people in this battle, not get chopped up by some crazy King." Claire spat out. "_You can't get killed. _If you died in this stupid Telmarine tradition, who else is going to lead the Narnians? I doubt Edmund and Caspian can do it without you. You're just making the wrong decisions, Pevensie."

"Then, if you think I'm making the wrong decisions, you are free to leave." Peter gritted out, staring at Claire's eyes with a hard look. Lucy gasped at Peter's harsh words as Claire took a step back with a blank look. Her nose soured at the disdainful tone in Peter's voice and felt her vision blur up at the increasing build-up of tears.

Claire sniffled, catching Peter's attention when he turned to look at her slowly and saw the lone tear falling from her eye and rolling down her cheek.

"_Fine._"

With that, Claire turned around and ran out of the little cavern, allowing the irrational side of her to overtake the rationality that she had always possess.

Caspian walked up to Peter soon after Claire ran out smacked him, on the back of his head, _hard._ "What're you waiting for? Go after her, idiot!"

Peter opened his mouth to retort Caspian when Edmund stepped out of the shadows and stopped him with his hand. "Don't try to deny, Pete. You know you're an idiot when it comes to girls." Edmund then gave Peter a shove out of the cavern. "Now go! Run after her!"

Peter turned to the rest for approval and only started down the hallway when everyone, including the Bulgy Bear (who had gone back to licking its paw) had nodded their heads.

Peter bolted through the numerous hallways of Aslan's How and asked every passing Narnian he could find, but it seems none of them had seen Claire. Being on the brink of giving up and returning to prepare the Narnian troops for the coming battle, he walked past the open stone platform, a place he had forgotten was Claire's favourite spot in the whole How and heard a faint sniffle. Peter stopped dead in his tracks, having a nagging hunch as to who the person might be and turned on his heels before walking back to the platform and feeling sick all over at the sight in front of him. Claire was crying, and he was the cause of it. It made Peter angry that he was the one to have hurt Claire so badly when he vowed to protect her.

Peter stepped onto the platform and stopped instantly when Claire broke into a fit of dry coughs, since she had just recovered from getting her windpipe crushed by Nikabrik. She continued coughing and soon started gasping for air when the aftermath of the crying session she was having and the injury she had suffered during the near resurrection of Jadis came together, worsening her condition.

Peter ran forward when he noticed Claire having trouble breathing and turned her to face him before patting her on the back lightly with his hand wrapped around her slender shoulders. Claire, on the other hand, struggled when she realized who was the one helping to calm her down.

The sixteen year old brunette pushed the young King away from her and managed a raspy, "L-leave me a-alone!"

"Come on, Claire." Peter pleaded, pushing himself from the dirty floor. He rushed towards her again and enveloped her petite body with his muscular arms, pulling her close to his chest as she sobbed and choked into his tunic. Claire struggled against him for a moment, until she realized she was never going to get out of his strong grip with the meager amount of strength she had had left from the crying she had done. She stayed in Peter's strong arms until she calmed down enough, apart from the tears that were still flowing from her eyes and seeping into Peter's tunic. She couldn't help that the anger she had towards Peter were slipping away slowly when she was in his arms, when she was held so close to the guy that infuriated her, made her smile and made her worry. She couldn't help but think that he was going to die in the battle and she could do nothing about it.

With a choked sob, Claire peeled away from Peter and looked into his light blue eyes, rending herself lost and vulnerable in it. "Don't do the duel, please."

Peter looked away sadly and shook his head as another sob escaped Claire. "I'm sorry." He turned back to look at Claire and brought his thumb up to brush away the tears on her cheeks. "I have to do it, for Narnia."

"For Narnia." She repeated with a bitter laugh. "What about _me_?" Claire whispered. "What am_ I_ going to do if you died?"

"Quit thinking that I will get killed, Claire!" Peter yelled and immediately softened up. "_I won't. _It's our only chance before Lucy and Susan gets back. I can't risk _you_ dueling with Miraz either."

"Haven't you thought that maybe, _maybe _I don't want you to duel with Miraz because I don't want you to and that I was trying to protect you instead?" Claire said, as more tears poured down her cheeks, dripping onto her skirt, creating dark blobs on it. "That maybe I don't want you to get hurt because…" Claire stopped short and looked into Peter's eyes. "… _I love you._ I love you so much that I don't want to see you dead. That I'd rather be the one Miraz stab then see you get hurt."

The High King of Narnia widened his eyes at Claire's brave confession as his heart raced and his cheeks flushed red. He was so surprised, he couldn't say anything, apart from a weak, "_What?_"

Claire laughed bitterly at his response. "Funny how I thought your reaction would be bigger than this." She sniffled and continued. "Surprised huh? That I'd actually fall in love with you having hated you on the first day I met you."

Claire then stood up from the platform and turned around, not wanting to face Peter anymore. "The problem is, I'm sure you hate me now."

And with that, Claire turned and walked off to go check on the Narnian troops, leaving Peter to process everything that had just happened between them.

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	11. The Duel

Wooooooo!  
Longest chapter ever!  
Major thanks to the people who reviewed!

P/S; I took the movie quotes from a website, so it might not be as accurate. Pardon me :D

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Claire White stood beside the eldest Bulgy Bear on the ruins where the duel was expected to take place in a few minutes' time. The Narnians had assembled behind her while the Telmarine troops with their creepy Telmarine masks had already taken their places on the reverse side of the How, standing in neatly arranged packs. Instinctively, Claire's hand fell onto the hilt of her sword which hung on her waist-belt and felt nauseas. She was caught in a Revolution, one that she could be killed in.

_But perhaps dying wouldn't be that bad. _She thought sadly as the sun burnt down on the people. _Since I know the guy I love doesn't feel the same way._

Claire had successfully avoided Peter after that little 'talk' on the balcony by walking off in a different direction when she saw him approaching or simply by hiding herself in the weaponry, tending to each and every Narnian soldier before the battle. If hiding forever meant she will not have to face Peter asking about her confession, Claire was willing. She was willing to hide from him in order to avoid the intense awkwardness she knows will be present.

Behind her, the Narnians erupted into earsplitting cheers in which Claire took as a sign that Peter was out of the How and ready to take on Miraz. Her knees buckled a little below her as the Bulgy Bear held onto her arm and leaned her weight against him. The bear was a very sensitive creature, probably the nicest killing creature you can ever find. Willing her head not to turn behind her, Claire stared forward at the tyrant King and his three Marshals of the list and waved.

She smiled fakely and yelled above the noises. "Good luck in dying, asshole."

Miraz merely smiled back wickedly, showing his indifference about Claire's insult. "When I win this war and Narnia's overthrown by my great empire, I am going to bring you back to Telmar and make you my Concubine."

Claire cringed at the mere thought of marrying the old and selfish tyrant when a voice rang out. "Don't worry; she will _not_ have a chance of doing that at all." Claire turned her head to the side slightly and saw Peter walking alongside Edmund to the dueling arena. "Because you're going to be the one whose great empire's overthrown."

Claire turned away instantly when Peter tilted his head a little to look at her and for once, she was very, very, very uncomfortable around the High King. Claire looked forward and scowled. "I would rather marry a troll, seriously."

The bear apparently heard her mutter when he gave a booming laugh, causing his bulgy tummy to bounce, creating a cute sight to see as Claire said jokingly, "I like your tummy."

This made the bear laugh even harder just as Peter unsheathed his sword from his scabbard, making the Narnians cheer even louder for their King. Miraz did the same with his sword and put on his mask, preparing himself for the duel. The two made their way to the arena, staring at each other with pure hatred when Peter broke the contact and turned back to look at Claire. She caught his eyes, but looked away after a few seconds, finding more interest in staring at the stone blocks in front of her than at Peter. Peter turned back to Miraz, feeling his heart getting heavy all of a sudden at Claire's reluctance to look at him.

_When I'm done with all of this._ Peter thought as he and Miraz neared each other. _I'm going to tell her how I feel._

"There is still time to surrender." Miraz said, breaking his thoughts as they began circling each other.

Peter clenched his jaw and gritted out. "Well, feel free."

"How many more must die for the throne?" The Telmarine King said, shaking his head.

"_Just. One._" And with that, Peter put down the visor of his helmet and hopped onto the stone nearby.

_The duel was on._

**--**

Claire watched on as the two Kings grunted and panted, striking each other hard with their swords. It was obvious Peter was getting drained from the long fight when the helmet of his armor was knocked off by Miraz and his exhaustion was displayed on his sweaty face. He was taking in labored breaths right now and his stance was getting rather shaky.

Claire tugged on the bear's fur lightly and whispered. "Can't we do something to help him?" Claire bent down and picked up a stone. "I can stone Miraz. I'm good at throwing stuffs."

The Bulgy Bear shook his head and let out a gruff chuckle. "We can't, Your Majesty. This isn't fair. We will only do this when Miraz is the one cheating."

Claire groaned. "Haven't you seen Miraz eyeing his bow-armed general throughout the duel? He_ is_ planning to _shoot_ Peter!"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." The bear said, sending Claire a sad smile. "But rules are rul-"

Both Claire and the Bulgy Bear looked up at the sound of Peter's roar and watched as he ran towards Miraz and slashed him across the front of his left thigh, making him cry out in absolute pain. Blood seeped out from the fresh wound as Peter smirked despite being really tired. He was having the upper hand, having being the one to draw the blood first in the duel. At the chance of Miraz's vulnerability, Peter sends another blow at him but was blocked as the duel went on, with the occasional painful shouts from either two. Peter prepared himself as Miraz charged towards him and even though he had managed to block out the blade with his shield, he had not predicted Miraz's next action of kneeing him in his stomach, sending him to the floor.

"No…" Claire whispered, feeling her heartbeat quicken with every passing second. The bulgy bear placed his paw onto Claire's shoulder comfortingly as the paling girl stared at the duel in pure fear.

Peter let out a yell of pain when Miraz stepped on the shield that Peter held in his left hand, dislocating his shoulder forcefully. Gasps were heard emitting from the Narnians as they started to panic, seeing their leader injured. The bear cringed at the mere thought of how the pain will be like and covered Claire's head, hoping she will not be able to see the scene unfolding in front of her.

Peter inclined his head to the left when he picked himself up from the floor to see Claire with her hand over her mouth and eyes wide with fear. She shook her head at him, as if telling him to stop the duel and saw her quivering slightly. If it weren't for the fact that the Bulgy Bear was holding onto her, Claire would have fallen onto the floor like a toddler that had just learnt how to walk. Peter forced a pained smile at her and looked behind her to see Caspian and Susan nearing them on a horse.

_With no Lucy in sight._

Flustered at not seeing his youngest sister, Peter turned back to Miraz and eyed him contempt when the tyrant King asked. "Does His Highness need a respite?"

"Five minutes?" Peter asked, panting at the energy-drain and the pain from his shoulder.

"Three!" Miraz spat as they backed away and eyed each other carefully, in case one decided to spring a surprise attack on the other. Peter let out a painful sigh just as Edmund ran forward to pick up Peter's fallen helmet and help him on his way back to his side of the arena.

"Lucy?" Peter asked with fear displaying obviously on his face. A million and one thoughts ran through his mind when Susan and Caspian returned without her, causing Peter's mind to reel at the possibilities that Lucy could be hurt.

"She got through." Susan assured Peter and inclined her head towards Peter. "With a little help."

Peter breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Caspian sincerely. "Thanks."

The Telmarine Prince nodded and smiled, happy that the feud between Peter and him was resolved. "Well, you were busy."

"You better go up there." Peter turned to Susan and said breathily, still tired from the duel. "Just in case. I don't expect the Telmarines to keep their word."

Susan nodded and pulled Peter into a hug, forcefully grabbing his injured arm. Peter hiss at the pain shooting from his abused shoulder and flinched, making Susan pull back and apologize. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

Susan looked at Peter and frowned. She was immensely worried for her older brother, seeing that he was in pain and yet still has to finish the darned duel with Miraz. Part of her blamed Caspian for suggesting this Telmarine tradition at first, but she knew this was the only way they could help Narnia win this battle. Susan looked up at Peter and managed a weak smile. "Be careful."

The Narnians behind them were getting restless at the state of their King, and increasingly, the fear of losing this battle was weighing in on their hearts. In an attempt to give the Narnians a confidence boost, Edmund turned to Peter and nodded his head at the Narnians. "Keep smiling."

Peter raised his sword high with a bright smile as Susan ran towards the Narnians with her bow in her hand and disappeared through the entrance of the How. When Susan was out of sight, Peter passed his sword to Edmund and dropped onto the stool without a second word.

"Augh!" Peter gasped when Caspian lifted up the hand that was holding onto his shield, the hand that was injured. Edmund dropped his helmet at his cry and saw Peter turned to him and said, "I think it's dislocated."

Edmund jogged over to Peter's left and held onto his shoulder, touching and moving his arm around before deciding it was really dislocated.

"What do you think happens back home? If we die here?" Peter asked while Edmund continued moving his arm around into its correct position. Edmund held his arm at that position and stopped moving it when Peter turned to him. "I know you've always been here, and I've never reall- _argh!_"

A resounding crack rang out when Edmund pushed Peter's shoulder back into the correct position, making him yell in pure, stinging pain. Caspian flinched at the sound of bones being forcefully pushed back into place and looked up for a brief second before turning back to tightening the loose screw on Peter's helmet.

"Save it for later." Edmund said as he patted Peter on his shoulder and walked away.

On the other side of the stone arena, Miraz stood up, preparing himself for the continuation of the duel. Peter stood up too, with a deep breath; he took his sword from Caspian's hand and refused the helmet when Edmund offered it to him, much to Claire's annoyance.

"_What an idiot._" She muttered and watched as Miraz too pushed the helmet away stubbornly when his general offered it to him. The Narnians cheered once Peter stepped forward.

The clanging of the two Kings' swords began when Peter striked first but got blocked by Miraz's shield. Angered by Peter's blow, Miraz swung his blade at Peter's head mercilessly, showing his ruthlessness in wanting the High King dead. One by one, Peter avoided the blows, feeling close to death when the blade missed him by a few inches. But still, that did not stop Miraz when he swung his right fist at Peter, causing him to stagger backwards. Then, he used his shield and pushed it hard into Peter, forcing him even further back until Peter striked back with his sword. The maniacal look in Miraz's dark eyes sent chills down Peter's spine just as his forehead collided with his shield, sending him to the ground, groaning. He rolled onto his side when Miraz launched at him, attempting to bring down his sword into Peter's torso and with renewed strength, Peter swung his feet into Miraz's shin, bringing him down with a loud thud. Peter immediately got up when Miraz collided with the ground and launched at him while the tyrant King was still in the midst of standing up. They charged at each other again, blade meeting blade, grunts after grunts.

Peter snatched Miraz's sword from his hand and slashed it at his face in which the Telmarine King blocked it with his shield, hiding behind it like a coward. Peter's blows became more and more frenzied as he swung, blow after blow at Miraz, until the tyrant King fought back, using his amour clad fist, he hurtled it at Peter blindly which the High King missed narrowly. Miraz then used his shield to push Peter back like before while Peter grabbed a hold on the shield and with a roar; he twirled it over Miraz's head and pushed it hard into his back, causing the tyrant to let out a yell of pain.

Not wanting to give up, Miraz elbowed Peter in the face, causing him to let go of the shield and stagger backwards into the pile of stones behind him. Catching Peter's susceptibility, Miraz grabbed his fallen sword from the ground and launched at Peter, who turned on every blow Miraz made to avoid getting hit. On the last blow, Peter mustered up all his strength and brought his fist down onto Miraz's left thigh, making contact with the wound Peter himself had created during the start of the duel before Miraz had a chance to strike with his sword.

"Arghhh!" Miraz yelled and kneeled down onto the floor, holding out his hand when Peter motioned to bring down his fist on his worthless head.

"Now's not the time for chivalry, Peter." Edmund yelled when Peter stopped from bringing his hand down in mid-air.

Claire ran up to Edmund and Caspian at the sight of the kneeling tyrant King. Peter looked at Edmund then to Claire who shook her head, signaling him to let Miraz go, since he had suffered not only physical injuries but humiliation.

_Humiliation of kneeling before another King. Begging for his life._

Peter brought his hand down and stared at Miraz with disgust before walking back away from the worthless Telmarine, casting two glances at him. Claire watched as Miraz turned to his generals, panting and sending them angry looks before he grabbed his sword from the ground and stood up quickly.

"Peter! Behind you!"

"Look out!"

Peter dodged the blade just in time on hearing Claire and Edmund's yells. Miraz lunged at him again while Peter missed it narrowly and held onto the blade with his hands. Swiftly, Peter twisted the blade around, bring the tip of it facing Miraz before he pushed it in, piercing the sword into the Telmarine King's stomach. As Miraz gasp, Peter drew the sword from him slowly and placed it over his injured arm as the dictator fell onto his knees once again.

Miraz looked up at Peter when he did not bring the blade now and kill him. "What's the matter, boy? Too cowardly to take a life?"

Peter put down the sword and gritted out with clenched jaw. "It's not mine to take." He turned around and held out the blade to Caspian, as the young Telmarine Prince walked forth slowly, eyeing his injured uncle all the while.

The air around the two empires hung dense as Caspian lifted the sword above his head, holding it in a striking position. He paused and stared into his Uncle's dark eyes, feeling himself contemplate on his next action. Caspian was obliged to kill him, for Miraz was a tyrant, a usurper who sought to kill him for the Telmarine throne… and the one who killed his father. Miraz's own brother. He hated him for killing his father, for leaving him alone, but he simply couldn't bring himself to bring down the blade on the man in front of him…

Because he was Caspian's family after all. Even though Miraz was an evil-plotting and cunning King, he was still Caspian's uncle, someone who shared the same blood as him. Anyone in his shoes will not be able to kill someone who is your family. No matter how much Caspian had hated him for ruining his life, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Miraz stared into Caspian's brown eyes and smiled weakly. "Perhaps I was wrong…" He whispered. "Maybe you have the makings of a Telmarine King, after all." With that, Miraz bowed his head down, preparing for the blow that would take his life away as Caspian gave a roar and brought the blade down…

_Piercing it into the patch of grass before Miraz._

Miraz looked up in surprise at Caspian's anguished face and breathed a sigh of relief. Caspian tightened his hold on the hilt of Miraz's sword and said. "Not one like you."

"Oh boy." Claire whispered, knowing something was bound to happen if Caspian had let Miraz go. She could understand he couldn't bring himself to do it, to kill a man that shares the same blood as him. But letting a tyrant like Miraz go was equivalent to capturing a wolf and setting it free. You never know when he might strike back again.

"You can keep your life." Caspian said as he straightened his back and looked down upon the defeated King. "But I am giving the Narnians back their kingdom."

The Narnians cheered as Caspian took one last look at his uncle and his generals before walking back to where he was standing on. Edmund patted him on his back while they walked off towards the How. Edmund and Caspian walked alongside each other in front of Claire and Peter where _she _was trying to edge away from him and _he_ was trying to get nearer to her.

"Well…" Peter said, looking at Claire. "I didn't die."

"Obviously." Claire muttered when she felt two hands on her shoulders, stopping her and turning her to her left.

Peter stared into Claire's blue eyes and said. "Look, I've got something to te- What's wrong?"

Claire's eyes were wide in shock as she stared at something behind Peter. Turning around, Peter saw the limp body of Miraz falling down onto the ground like a dead weight as the Telmarine Lord, Sopespian stood there like a statue, watching Miraz fall to the ground.

_With a red arrow protruding out of the Telmarine King's back._

"It's Susan's." Claire whispered.

"Treachery!" Sopespian yelled to the Telmarine troops as he plucked Miraz's sword from the ground. "They shoot him! They murdered our king!"

Peter let go of Claire and faced the Narnians. "Get ready!"

"Peter!" Caspian yelled pointing to something behind the High King. Instinctively, Claire pushed Peter away and drew her one of her knives before throwing it at the Telmarine Marshals of the Lists, Gergiore, striking him directly at his heart.

Claire ran over to the dead soldier and plucked her knife as fresh blood squirted out of the wound. "Damn it. Why the hell must Telmarines be such sneaky rats!"

"Go!" Peter shouted at the Bulgy Bear and Glenstorm, telling them to go to their places. Claire ran back to him as the Telmarines started pelting stone boulders at the Narnians, narrowly missing the place where Edmund, Peter and she were standing on.

"Break a leg, people." Claire mumbled to Peter and Edmund who turned around to give her blank and confused looks.

"It meant good luck."

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	12. The Battle

Here's the newest one.  
I decided to break it into two parts.

Hope you like it ((:

_Disclaimer: I own only Claire White._

I've decided to do shout-outs again! because i received the MOST reviews for the previous chapter!  
So i wanna thank these people, A LOT :D

**IAmPossessedByVanillaIceCream, chnoelle, dutchchicky, SilverSlippers, Midnightxwolfx, denys, godsgracie12, fionagurls1301, jonnahjovinick **_(thanks so much too for the really sweet review :D)_**, Laura Morris, NarnianFairyPirateAtTwilight, IaMoBsEsSeDwItHnArNiA, dance-round-the-memory-tree, Gothqueen13, Star-crossed-eyes, emptyonideas, narniagirl17 **and last but definitely not the least, **nithya-shineNsmile**.

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* * *

_Boom!_

Another stone boulder pelted through the air and crashed into an empty part of the field as the Telmarine troops began charging forward, horses galloping and swords held outward in front of them.

Edmund stole a panicked glance at Peter who seemed unaffected by the nearing enemies but seemingly waiting for a sign. On the other side of him, Claire's heart thundered against her chest painfully, watching with dreaded anticipation at the Telmarines' actions of firing the Narnians with the killer boulders. Her knuckles were turning white from the tight grip she was having on the hilt of her sword

After a few more minutes of doing nothing but observing the approaching enemies, Peter turned around and looked at Caspian who immediately kicked his horse and ran under the How for the underground attack on the Telmarines along with General Glenstorm the Centaur. The two cantered across the field and into the How to be underground with the rest of the Narnians who were sent or offered to help with the ambush. Peter hoped in his heart that he and Caspian would be able to keep the same count because if one of them were to be too quick or too slow, it could cause the Narnians the whole war.

_And their lives._

The ground beneath Peter, Edmund and Claire shook as the Telmarines continued charging towards them, nearing them with every second passing by.

"One…" Peter started to count slowly.

_Boom!_ Another boulder hit the Narnians' side and this time, it had hit a place where some of the Narnian warriors were on, killing them instantly.

"Two…" Peter continued counting at a slow pace. "Three… Four…"

**--**

Underground, Caspian too, was counting as he and the Narnians charged through the numerous dark tunnels. When the time was right, they will hit the stone pillars supporting the ground above them and plunging the unaware Telmarines to their death. They had discussed this method during the plan-making for this battle and Caspian had agreed readily, wanting to do whatever he could for Narnia, wanting the best for the land that welcomed him even though he was someone from the enemy.

Somehow, one way or another, his thoughts drifted to the beautiful queen who had adamantly refused to let him hold station underground, refused to put his life at stake under the tumbling rocks. Susan's name rang in Caspian's mind as he continued riding through the tunnels, leading the Narnians towards the attack. He held the torch in one hand and the reins of his horse in another continued counting.

"Five… Six… Seven…"

He was going to be safe for her. He was going to win this battle for her, Narnia and Aslan.

**--**

"Eight… Nine…" Peter took in a deep breath and with a clear and commanding voice, he shouted. "Get ready!"

Before Claire's eyes, the ground in front of the ruins the three of them were on sunk, sending the charging Telmarines and their horses to their death below. She looked up to see arrows flying over their heads, aiming at the enemies who were now struggling to get up from the crater. The arrows swooshed towards the soldiers as grunts and yells of pain rang out, signaling that the arrows had met their targets.

Peter took a last determined look at Claire before facing forward and holding his sword high above his head.

"CHARGE!" Peter yelled, running forward with Claire and Edmund on his horse in tow, followed by the Narnians behind them.

_This was it,_ Claire thought as the first Telmarine soldier neared her, preparing to kill her. _It's now or never._

**--**

Claire slashed her way through the field of Telmarine soldiers, killing them within two swings of her blades, which was good enough for someone who doesn't have a sword-handling background. She swung, ducked and swung again, killing two other enemies and managed to somehow, hit another soldier in the face with her sword, knocking the enemy out almost instantly. She was tired, after killing her _god-knows-how-many-she-had-killed-so-far_ Telmarine as beads of perspiration glistened on her forehead, causing her hair to cling to her sticky face.

The grueling battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines raged on with the clanging of swords and yelling of pains filling the air. A solid marching noise came from the Telmarines' side, making Claire pause after killing a soldier and reeled at the sight of _more_ Telmarine troops marching towards the chaos in unison with Sopespian and Glozelle leading them. Claire caught the eye of Peter who had too, saw the oncoming Telmarines.

Suddenly, a high-pitched gawking noise that sounded like an eagle rang out as the Gryphons carrying the bow clad dwarves skimmed through the skies, sending numerous arrows at the accurately aimed enemies. The great eagle-like creatures brought the dwarves round, flying through the sky, and managing to miss some of the boulders tossed by the Telmarines.

A yell brought Claire out from staring at the sky and stare at the soldier charging towards her maniacally, screaming his lungs out before Claire pushed her blade into the soldier's torso and watched as he fell to the ground with a thud. Boulders were still pelting towards them mercilessly; causing batches of Narnians to be killed at one go.

Claire ran towards Peter, feeling the heat bear down on them like fire. "At this rate, we'll be so _totally_ outnumbered!"

Peter contemplated her words and turned to Susan who was standing at the top of the How, along with the other archers. She was leading these archers in the battle, for she was the one with the best archery skill, killing whatever target she set her sight on. The High King of Narnia frowned and whispered. "Lucy?"

Susan shook her head, signaling that fact that the youngest Pevensie was not back yet, striking an arrow of fear into Peter. Having no other options but to protect his people first, he turned to the Narnians and brought up his sword for attention.

"Back to the How!" The Narnians heard his command and flocked towards the entrance of the How as Peter held onto Claire's hand tightly and pulled her alongside him. Despite the fact that the two were in the middle of a battle, Claire couldn't help but smile at their intertwined hands, feeling a kind of peculiar warmth spread from their locked hands to the rest of her body, ending at the tips of her toes.

More boulders pelted at them as the Telmarines increased their firing after noticing the escaping Narnians. Peter pulled her to an abrupt stop when he saw the boulder hitting into the entrance of the How, causing huge rubbles to fall onto the unaware Narnians, and stamping them to their merciless death instantly.

Claire let out a gasp, bringing her hand to her mouth as she watched the scene before her unfold. Her heart clenched at the sight of the Narnians who were dead or stuck underneath the rubble when a piercing scream pulled her out of trance, forcing her mind to reel even further, even more viciously.

There was Susan, hanging onto the ledge of the stone platform she was on when a tree toppled over due to the impact of the boulders. Her legs had slipped and brought her over the edge at the intense shake as Trumpkin held onto her hand. Caspian ran towards Claire and Peter immediately and started breathing quickly at seeing Susan struggling to keep from dropping while Trumpkin was trying his utmost best to pull her to safety. Another impact caused the whole How to shook once more as Susan's hand slowly slipped away from Trumpkin's and with a scream, she dropped…

And landed on a stone slab not far from the platform she had fallen from.

"_Nicely done._" Claire said sarcastically as Susan shot the three a sheepish smile while Peter and Caspian both breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

Peter turned to the frenzied battle in front of them and clenched his jaw. The Telmarine troops were still advancing and using their boulder attacking system and yet, the Narnians fought on, never giving up even in the face of death. He couldn't give up just yet. He had to fight on for the Narnians.

Glancing behind him, he saw Claire, Edmund, Susan and Caspian standing there with determined looks on their faces, all sharing the same goal.

To give the Narnians back what belonged to them.

Drawing their swords, and arrow for Susan's case, the five nobilities charged headfirst into the battle, leading the rest of Narnia towards the fight for their freedom. They fought hard and ruthlessly, killing each and every Telmarine near them.

**--**

Meanwhile, Lucy galloped through the enchanted woods of Narnia, searching for Aslan and bearing hope in her heart her siblings, Claire, Caspian and the rest of Narnia would be able to hold on till she seeks out the Majestic Ruler of Narnia. Light seeped through the spaces between the trees as the branches around her brushed against her roughly while she rode on, determined to scout out Aslan to help Narnia.

Hooves sounded behind her, causing Lucy to urge her horse even quicker at the fact that the Telmarine soldiers chasing after her were very, very close. She was worried for Susan when she had told Lucy to continue the search alone while she stayed behind to kill the Telmarine chasers that had been following them since they started their journey from the How.

Lucy stole a glance behind her to see a bow clad soldier aiming at her before her eyes caught sight of something moving among the trees beside her. Kicking her horse and urging it to go faster, Lucy gasped when a lion jumped out from the woods in front of her, causing her horse to neigh loudly and raise its forelegs in fear then throwing Lucy onto the ground, hard.

Lucy sat up and stared at the lion in front of her when it gave a loud roar and jumped over her head and onto the Telmarine soldier, knocking him over before killing him mercilessly.

Lucy walked towards the lion, staring at it all the while before smiling at the realization that the lion was indeed the saviour she had been looking for, and not any other salvage lions in the woods.

"Aslan!" Lucy cried, running towards the lion and hugging it around its mane, tackling both of them to the ground. Aslan merely chuckled at Lucy's affectionate act and allowed her to nuzzle her cheeks into his mane, feeling happy to see the youngest Pevensie safe and sound.

"I knew it was you." Lucy said, breaking away from hugging the great lion. "The whole time, I knew it. But no one seemed to believe me."

"And why would that stop you from coming to me?" Aslan's rich voice asked.

A guilty look flitted over Lucy's childish features. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared to come alone. Why didn't you show yourself? Why couldn't you come and save us like last time?"

"Things never happen the same way twice, dear one." Aslan explained in his deep and wise tone as Lucy nodded in understanding before frowning again.

"If I came earlier…" Lucy said. "Everybody who died… can I stop that?"

A silence passed over the lion and the little girl as Aslan thought of a way to answer Queen Lucy the Valiant. The lion's amber eyes stared into Lucy's blue eyes and said. "We can never know what would happen Lucy." Aslan continued in a much lighter tone. "But what will happen is another matter entirely."

Lucy smiled. "Will you help?"

"Of course." The lion answered. "As will you."

"Oh." A defeated look flashed across Lucy's face. "I wished I was braver."

"If you were any braver, you'll be a lioness." Aslan replied before standing up, regaining the regal air the Lion had always possessed. "Now, I think your friends have slept long enough, don't you think?"

With those words, Aslan roared, a majestic and loud one, awakening the sleeping trees for their time.

_Time to save Narnia._

**--**

Claire's eyes took in the chaos around her – slashing, killing, grunting, and yelling. Blood and bodies were everywhere. It was just plain gory. She drew one of her knives and threw it at a soldier who was about to attack Trumpkin and struck him in his heart like how she did before. The Telmarine fell dead, landing on the ground with a grunt of pain before Claire plucked out the knife from his chest and continued her frenzied killing, stabbing and piercing of any Telmarine soldiers she could see.

"I swear." Claire panted as she killed yet another enemy. "If anyone was to give me a candy bar right now, I'd serve that person for life."

She was weak, exhausted and drained from all the swinging, blocking, ducking, running and jumping. Her muscles screamed in agony as Claire pressed on, slaying the Telmarines as best as she could. Her blood pounded in her ears painfully and her lungs struggled for air with every enemy she killed. This never-ending battle was too much for Claire; a girl who had never wielded a sword until she was dropped into this magical land called Narnia and was told to fulfill a prophecy. For once, Claire actually thought she could die of pure exhaustion, instead of being killed by the enemy.

Claire yelped when a pair of calloused and foul-smelling hand covered her mouth tightly, hoping to suffocate her as she struggled. Being the sort who was used to doing stupid things which ended up saving herself, Claire bit the hand, hard, although it was clogged up with dirt and what nots, causing the attacker to let go of her upon the bite.

"Do not _ever_ touch me again, you rat!" Claire yelled and not wanting to use her sword with that soldier, she sent her boot-clad foot up the Telmarines's crotch and kicked it, _hard. _If it was even possible, the soldier howled even more, falling onto the ground, holding onto his abused lower pelvis.

Trufflehunter scurried over to her and cringed at the Telmarine. "That's going to hurt."

"Truffle…" Claire whispered when her eyes caught sight of some the huge things nearing them. "Am I seeing things or are those _walking_ trees?"

The badger hopped up in glee, scratching the eye of a Telmarine soldier in the midst of doing it. "Aslan! He's here to save us!"

With that, the badger ran off to help Trumpkin, who was struggling and trying to fend off the Telmarine soldiers. Claire killed a couple more soldiers (including the one whom she kicked because he stood up again) and stared as the trees began to kill batches of Telmarines with one mere swipe of their roots. Their branches groaned with every move they made, shaking the lush green leaves off of their crowns

Claire caught sight of Peter helping Caspian up and widened her eyes in happiness at the new found help they had on their side. She watched as the Telmarine enemies scampered for their lives, running away from attacking the Narnians and back to their troops like cowards, displaying a stark contrast of the ferocity they held when the battle had just started.

She walked towards them with her sword held down by her side, thinking that she will not be attacked for all the Telmarines were either killed by the magical trees, or had scurried back to their troops. She hadn't noticed when a certain Telmarine soldier, who wanted the new Narnian Queen to die, released the arrow, aiming at her all the while using the bow Edmund had dropped before the five of them charged at the Telmarines. Claire had forgotten to never let her guard down in the battle.

_She wasn't aware of the danger she was in._

Until the arrow flew through the air at her and met the part of her chainmail that was slashed open during the battle precisely.

_She wasn't aware of the danger she was in._

Until she saw the horrified faces of the High King and the Telmarine Prince before the white-hot pain shot through her body, coursing through her nerves like poison.

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	13. Pride and Prejudice

Seriously, guys.  
31 reviews for the previous chapter??

_YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME!  
REALLY. AS AWESOME AS **HIGH KING PETER THE MAGNIFICENT**!_

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Anyways, here's the next one.  
My favourite chapter by far,  
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_Disclaimer: I own this plot & Claire White._

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* * *

Everything else around Claire White seemed to hasten up such that the people around her and the things happening around her were blurred. All that was in plain clear view were the arrow, Peter and Caspian.

_And all Claire could think about now, was pain._

Pure pain. White-hot pain. The mega amount of pain she had never ever felt in her whole sixteen years of existence was now weighing in on her nerves and her senses. Slowly but surely, Claire seemed to lose sensation in her legs as they gave way under her and she crumpled to the floor, kneeling first then falling onto her side.

Like a paper doll._ Fragile, weak and torn._

In front of her, Peter Pevensie stood shocked at the mortifying scene unfolding in front of his eyes. Unlike Claire, everything that Peter was looking at seemed to play in slow motion. The movement of the arrow flying at Claire and piercing into her side, the look of disbelief on Claire's beautiful face and the way she crumpled to the floor slowly –happened at such a slow pace that Peter felt it too painful to watch. Too, too painful.

"CLAIRE!" Peter yelled and ran forward, with Caspian following closely behind him, when his senses finally kicked in soon after he saw the girl fell onto the ground, motionless but gasping.

Peter pushed through the crowd roughly and fell beside the injured girl with Caspian following closely behind him. The sight of Claire's crimson blood pooling around her wound sent chills up and down the High King's spine as his calloused hands reached behind her back gently to cradle her in his arms. The arrow jutted out of her hideously as the blood continued to spread through her blue tunic, staining it bit by bit while Claire loses her blood with every passing second. Peter's hand hovered above the arrow, contemplating on pulling it out or letting it stay in its original spot. Carefully, Peter held onto the arrow, moving it a little without knowing, causing Claire to cry out from the sharp sending sharp shooting pain rocketing through her.

Claire's eyes opened as she glowered at Peter. "Don't do that!"

"I-I'm s-sorry!" Peter stuttered as his grip tightened on Claire's shoulders. His heart clenched tight at the look of pain on Claire's flush face and the way her chest rise up and falls back down quickly, as though she was fighting for air.

Claire continued to gasp and whimpered when her hand came into contact with the cursed arrow. The pain was indescribable. It was torturing when the arrow had first striked her, but following the little bout of intense pain was drowsiness.

"Claire…" Peter whispered, cradling her closer to him as he watched her cheeks turned from a dusty pink to a startling white. She was still gasping but not as regular as before, from the pure shock of everything that was happening to her. Her fearful blue eyes looked from the fresh wound to Peter's face and felt his hand shivered as he held her.

Attempting a weak smile, Claire said. "I'm fine. I'm not going to die, yet." Peter shook his head, causing his light brown hair to fall into his eyes. His usually sparkling blue eyes held despair at not knowing what to do to save her.

_He felt weak. Vulnerable. Useless._

Caspian looked between the two and felt tears prickling the back of his eyes. He blinked them away and turned to his side, having been unable to look at the sight in front of him. Caspian knew of Peter's feelings towards Claire, though he was sure they were pretty messed up at the moment. He couldn't even imagine the pain the High King was probably feeling now, cradling the girl he love in his arms and watching the life slip away from her.

_Caspian could never do that._

He could never watch the girl he love fade away. Even the simplest thought of Susan returning to her own world scared him more than the battle was scaring him. He could never live without seeing Susan's warm blue eyes that sends a jolt through him whenever they held eye contact. He was in love with her. But like Peter, he wanted to end this war before he told Susan of his feelings.

Now, as Caspian look at Peter sadly, he knew the High King's confession will have to come a bit sooner than expected. And it wasn't because the war was over, but because Claire was fading. An arrow to the side of Claire's torso may not prove fatal instantly, but it can and _will_ kill the girl as time passes without immediate medical help.

And being in the middle of the war, there was no immediate medical help. Lucy wasn't there by their side with her healing cordial. So, there were only two options on the battlefield. _Living or dying. _

Peter brushed the sweaty fringe from Claire's eyes with his fingertips, still reeling at the fact that her life was in mortal peril. "Claire? Can you hear me?"

The brunette's eyes cracked open and she nodded lightly. "I'm just injured. Not deaf."

"You have to hold on." Peter whispered as his voice cracked a little towards the end. "For Narnia. _For me._ We're winning the battle already; you can't die without seeing us conquer the Telmarines and give the Narnians back their home." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and whispered against it, allowing his hot breath to caress the part of her. "You can't."

Claire nodded and bit her bottom lip as a new wave of pain rushed through her when she shifted in Peter's strong arms. She felt safe in there, and she never wanted to leave. Even though she was possibly dying. Warm blood continued to flow from the open wound where Claire's hand reached up to touch the cursed spot. Her fingers came into contact with the arrow once again and she bit back a sob. It felt weird, and scary that she was having a killing weapon stuck into her. Her eyelids began to feel really heavy, along with the heat of the battle, she was feeling really sleepy.

"You're going to be okay." Peter shook the girl when he saw her drooping eyelids. "Claire, Claire!" Peter shook her harshly, hoping to prevent her from slipping into unconsciousness. If she did, it was going to be a high chance she wasn't going to open her eyes again. If she did, it was going to be a high chance that Peter will not be able to see her captivating blue eyes ever again. "Come on, stay with me."

Claire peeled open her eyes reluctantly, showing her haziness. "Jeez, treat a lady like that, will you."

She felt her heavy eyelids again and fought hard not to close them, for fear of bringing unnecessary worry to Peter. But somehow, no matter how much effort she put in, Claire just couldn't keep herself awake.

Peter on the other hand was beyond desperation. Lucy was not around with him and they were still in the midst of a raging war. He hugged the girl closer to him and combed his fingers through Claire's silky brown hair. "No! Claire! Don't sleep, stay awake!"

"Peter?" Claire was delirious now. From the pain of her wound and the sudden drowsiness. "I'm really tired. Maybe I'll just take a small nap."

The High King let out a sob and shook his head. "No, no, you're not sleepy. You're very awake right now. Don't sleep. _I'll save you._ I will. Don't do this to me, Claire. _Please._"

_Drip._

Claire peeled open her eyes when she felt a droplet of something dripped onto her cheek. What she saw next surprised her. Another tear was threatening to fall from Peter's blue eyes as it clung to his bottom lash line. With difficulty, she reached up and brush the sadness away as Peter closed his eyes when Claire held his cheeks. She let go reluctantly at the thought that her love for him was not reciprocated by the High King and smiled sadly.

"Don't cry, Pete. You're turning into a girl." Claire let out a chuckle before turning serious. "I'm fine. You shouldn't be here anyways. Go back to the Narnians. They need you to lead them."

Peter shook his head adamantly as another tear found its way down the King's rosy cheek. Caspian stayed silent beside them, until he saw Susan struggling to fend off the Telmarine soldiers who hadn't ran back to their troops. Peter and Claire turned to see what had made Caspian run away and sighed.

"See what I mean?" Claire whispered. "They _need_ you. You're their High King, you _have_ to lead them. Like you've said, we're winning. But that doesn't mean we've already won. Go back to them, Peter. Win this. _For me._"

"I-I can't, Claire." Fierceness blasted behind Peter's blue eyes as he stared into Claire's own orbs. "I can't leave you alone here. I can't lead the Narnians knowing you're probably going to die… and _l-leave_ me. I just can't. What will you do if you were me? Knowing that I was dying and yet is still deemed to lead these people? You will not be able to lead these people too."

"I'll will. They need their freedom." Claire whispered and felt her own eyes welling up with tears. The pain and sleepiness faded off slowly as Peter and her continued to talk. The talking seemed to serve as a distraction.

Peter was furious beyond words at Claire's want for him to leave her for the Narnians. "Don't you understand?! I cannot lead the people knowing you're dying. You're injured, Claire. And losing… _hell_… a lot of blood. _Hell lots of blood!_ I can't just abandon you knowing that all these…" Peter eyes drifted to the arrow that was now having blood coagulating around it before looking into Claire's eyes again. "All these happened because I failed to keep my words of protecting you. _It's all my fault_."

It took Claire a whole lot of energy to simply reach up and slap Peter on his arm. "You are such an idiot!" Her expression softened up and continued. "This isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself. If it was anyone's fault… it's my own."

Peter opened his mouth to retort her but clammed shut with one sharp look from Claire. "Don't try to tell me otherwise, Pevensie. I should've known better than let my guard down in a battlefield."

"I can't leave you here, Claire." Peter said and cringed when he felt the cold and clamminess of Claire's hand.

"You can." Claire argued and attempted to pull herself from Peter's grasp. "You can and you will. Now get away from me and go back to those Nar-"

Heat blazed in Peter's heart at Claire's stubbornness of putting the Narnians before herself.

"_I can't abandon you because I love you, damn it!_" Peter yelled, stunning Claire momentarily with the loudness of his voice.

_But not as much as stunning her with his words._

All thoughts left Claire when the words poured out of Peter's mouth. She widened her eyes and gapped at him before finding her voice to reply. "_What?_"

"_I love you, Claire._" Peter whispered, feeling another tear made its way down his cheeks and onto their intertwined hands. "I've fallen in love with you. Not the kinds Edmund, Susan and Lucy have for you. But the 'you-make-me-want-to-do-crazy-things' kind. The 'Everytime you smile, my heart starts racing' kind. The kind of love shared between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. I love you like that." Peter smiled, quoting Claire's favourite couple from her favourite book, _Pride and Prejudice._

Peter smiled as he thought back to the time where his feelings for Claire grew. From annoyance due to her presence in Narnia, to loving each and every second that he spend with her. "I've had this silly, little crush on ever since you shared the book with me. Your perception on their feelings gave me a new light on your character, the way you think and the way you deal with things." Peter stared at the patch of grass in front of him and continued while averting Claire's eyes.

"From that little understanding of you came the sudden noticing of every little action you did. From the way you blew your hair away whenever they fell into your eyes…" with those words, Peter reached up to brush her hair away instinctively. "The way you fiddled with your thumbs whenever you're nervous… and the way your eyes sparkled when you smiled. I didn't know what was happening to me and thought I was going crazy, until I realized I couldn't live without you. Your face appeared in my mind during the raid on Miraz's castle, during the duel with that tyrant… and every other time. I was thinking about you way more than the times I thought about Susan, Edmund or Lucy."

Claire bit back a sob and grew angry. "You're only saying that because I'm having a stupid arrow stuck in my side. You're only comforting me."

Peter shook his head and pulled Claire closer to him, hugging her tightly as though Claire was her lifeline, and he'd die if he let go of her. "I'm saying that because I was being a jerk by not telling you when you told me you love me. I'm saying that because I really do feel that way. With all my heart."

"W-why didn't you t-tell me e-earlier?" Tears were now making their way down Claire's cheeks, one by one, droplet by droplet. "If you had told me earlier, we'd have more time together."

"I'm sorry…" Peter whispered. "It's probably all too late now…"

Claire smiled. "It's probably not. I feel like jumping and hopping and screaming now, though I know doing that will totally kill me."

The miniscule space between Peter and Claire closed up gradually, until their lips met in a chaste, innocent and loving first kiss (even though their first was done to save Claire earlier). Warmth spread through both their bodies when their lips locked together; radiating the pure love they shared for each other. For Claire, this was what she had always wanted. _A perfect first kiss._

_Minus the arrow sticking out from her body and the fact that they were still in the middle of a war. _

The two broke apart with slowly, missing the warmth almost instantly as they smiled bashfully at the intimate act.

Peter pressed a kiss onto Claire's lightly freckled nose. "I love you."

"Same here, buddy." Claire said jokingly. "Well… I expected my first kiss to be in a much better place while we aren't killing Telmarines, but it's better than nothing." She mumbled in a light tone and laughed when Peter chuckled at her words. The laughter cause her to work her torso too hard, sending sharp shooting pains up her body as she gasped, clenching her eyes shut and holding a fist of Peter's tunic in her hands.

"Take it easy, Claire." Peter said as the worry about her injury rushed back to him like a dreaded storm.

"Claire!" Susan, Caspian and Edmund dropped beside her and Peter one after the other and almost instantly, the two Pevensies decided to bombard them with questions.

"What happened?"

"Oh Aslan's mane! Who did it?"

"Are you okay?"

"Can you hear me?"

"What're we go-"

Claire closed her eyes at the million and one query which Peter took as a cue to cut in. "Hold it, Su, Ed! One question at a time, _slowly._"

Caspian shook his head at his preposition and nodded to the backing Telmarine troops. "There's no time for 'slowly', Peter. The Telmarines are pulling back."

Claire's head snapped to Caspian before she turned to smile sadly at Peter. "Go. I'll be fine here."

"Over my dead body." Peter gritted out and with a determined look, he stood up with Claire in his arms, bridal-style. "You're coming with us."

"But-!"

"No buts." Peter said in an adamant tone, cutting across Claire's words. He turned to Susan, Caspian and Edmund. "Ready?"

The three royals nodded as Peter turned to the gathering Narnians behind him and yelled. "For Aslan!"

With that, the Kings, Queens and Prince charged forward, leading the Narnians to their victory and most importantly, to their freedom.

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**reviews cause you love Peter, Edmund, Caspian, Susan, Lucy, Reepicheep or even ME :D**

i absolutely love to know what you guys feel about my story!


	14. Aslan

Here's the next one, buddies!  
I'm was really tired when I typed this update,  
so pardon me if it's totally screwed up or rushed.  
I wasn't in a good coherent state of mind.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank these people, for reviewing and reading and everything!

**godsgracie12. Dearheart** - thanks for the constructive comments! I love it!. **NarnianFairyPirateAtTwilight, Kat-Cullen-Kitty. chnoelle. Imagination is freedom. anticipating the call. IaMoBsEsSeDwItHnArNia. bluebaby3296. GothQueen13. ARtemIs07. eli & lil Liz **the two anons**. GoGothGirl. live.love.chanel. narniagirl17. jonnahjovinick **- _punches you back_ you're coming in the story, SOON! as long as i get some parts done. ILYT :D. **Rainremember. Sky-Pirate325. nithya-shineNsmile. dancerPat. dutchchicky. heya. dance-round-the-memory-tree. xxroxy-dogxx. xXaussie609dancerXx. brezzybrez** & last but def not the least, **licette230**

You guys totally keep this story going!

_x's and o's_

* * *

Peter huffed as he led his people towards the River Beruna where the Telmarines were currently retreating into. He may be a well-built teenager who had undergone two huge battles, but running across the plains, clad in weighty chainmail and cradling a sixteen year old who weighed around 46kg (not including her own chainmail) could take a toil on his body. He wasn't as perfect as every Narnian thought he was, Peter made mistakes and had his own fair share of falls from time to time.

But even so, Peter hated falling. He hated for people to see the vulnerable side of him, the side that made mistakes and was useless at times. He was what people will call a perfectionist. A strong-headed, stubborn one at that. He was aware that he drove his siblings crazy at times when he was so stubborn; he refused to listen to anyone, even though he was the one in the wrong. He could be egoistic, obnoxious and annoying at times, but that was just the way Peter Pevensie was – egoistic, obnoxious and annoying.

Peter looked down at the girl in his arms when he felt her shift a little. Claire looked up at him and swipe at a smudge on his sweaty cheeks. "Are you tired? You look like you're going to faint from sheer exhaustion."

Peter cracked a smile as they continued chasing after the Telmarines. "I'm not as weak as you. In fact, I _believe_ I'm more of a better fighter."

See, _egoistic Peter_ coming right up.

Claire rolled her eyes and looked down at her injured side. The pain had reduced to a strange sort of numb, but her head was throbbing all the same. Pounding, like someone was drumming inside her head – _boom, boom, and boom_. She ignored the poundings and refused to even cringe when Peter's hand accidentally brushed against the arrow, sending a sharp shooting pain to rocket through her nerves and rubbed her senses raw. Right now, all she wanted was to sleep the headache away. But she knew she couldn't do that. She did not know if she will ever wake up if she slept. She did not know if she could ever see the magnificent blue eyes of the High King again, if she succumbs to the sleep her body screamed for. So, Claire blinked hard and resisted the drowsy call of sleep as best as she could and buried her head into Peter's chest.

"We'll get you to Lucy as soon as possible." Peter reassured her once they were nearing the rivers. "You will be fine. I promise."

Claire tightened her hold on Peter's red tunic and took in a deep breath. The intoxicating smell of the High King flooded her senses and caused a smile to break out on her face. Peter smelled of woods, seas and definitely sweats. His fragrance lingered even when Claire broke away from him and laid her ear against his chest, listening to his heart thundering at a million miles per hour. She lifted her head and laughed. "You better calm down or you are going to suffer from cardiac arrest anytime now."

Peter chuckled as he came to a gradual stop when the two conflicting armies adjoined at the river of Beruna. The Telmarines and the Narnians stared at the nearing figure on the other end of the bridge as the five royalties broke out into smiles.

_It was Lucy._

The petite Narnian Queen walked further up, stopped and pulled out her dagger, smiling confidently at the flustered Telmarines before them. Lord Sopespian, the now leading man of the Telmarine troops looked back at Peter and company before turning back with a menacing look. What he saw next, surprised him, for he had not predicted the return of this King.

There, coming up beside Lucy was the Great Lion, the ruler of Narnia. Aslan walked forward slowly, eyeing the Telmarines with contempt as he stopped beside Lucy. Peter placed Claire onto the ground gingerly, allowing her feet to hold her steady while he leaned her against him, for fear of overworking her numbing body.

"_CHARGE!_" Lord Sopespian yelled, raising his sword high in the air and motioning for the Telmarine troops follow after him and kill the Narnian Queen and the True King of all Narnia.

Peter's hold on Claire's arm tightened when he saw the danger Lucy was now in, owning it to the reckless enemies. In an attempt to calm the High King down, Claire laid her hand on his gingerly and gave him a reassuring smile when they heard the majestic roar of the Great Lion. Both looked up simultaneously to see the Telmarine troops behind Lord Sopespian halting in the middle of the Bridge of Beruna, apparently shocked from the cry of the Lion.

A faint gurgle sounded from a faraway end of the river as the Telmarines started panicking at the sudden rise in the water level. Slowly but surely, the gurgling grew to a loud and angry crashing sound similar to that of a raging sea during a storm as the left part of the river rose drastically, taking the form of a figure.

"Oh my gosh…" Claire whispered when she saw the huge body of water rushing towards the bridge rapidly. "I am _never_ going swimming again." She muttered, eyes fixated on the liquid figure in front of them, earning a near inaudible chuckle from Peter, signaling the fact that he had heard her silly little comment.

Telmarine soldiers were flung off the bridge mercilessly by the crash of the water when the figure brought himself down onto the frail connector between the two sides. Water splashed onto the dry land Claire was on as the figure rose once again, bringing the broken bridge along with it. There, the lone figure struggling to keep his balance on the broken bridge was Lord Sopespian, looking as though he could actually cry out and scream for his mother anytime now.

The bridge rose higher and higher as the water figure brought the useless piece of structure closer and closer towards 'his' mouth. With a yell from Sopespian, the figure swallowed the bridge, along with the betraying Telmarine before 'he' crashed back down onto the river, dragging Sopespian into its watery grave. Peter hugged Claire close to his body when the water giant crashed back down onto the river for the second time, bringing a strong wave of clear water over the land and spraying all of them with the cool liquid.

Claire whimpered when the force of the falling water droplets acted on the arrow that was still sticking out from her side and felt it shift a little in the wound, forcing it deeper into her. The new wave of pain shooting through her caused Claire to stagger a little as Peter tightened his grip on her, hoping to keep her safe. Their clothes were drenched and they were dripping with river water mingled with sweat after the raging river was now back to its usual calm state.

Peter broke away from the hug and placed both his hands on Claire's cheeks, looking for any possible signs of injury. When he was 'sure' Claire was alright, he smiled and kissed her on the lips lightly, mixing a warm tingle with the intense pain she was feeling all over again.

Peter helped Claire cross the shallow river to where Lucy and Aslan were on along with Susan, Caspian and Edmund, all of whom were relieved that the war was finally over and they had won. When they reached the dry land, all five of them dropped onto their knees for respect to the Great Lion (even though Claire was being dragged down for she had no idea what she was supposed to do in the presence of Aslan). The searing white-hot pain was still burning inside Claire as her vision blurred, causing the sight in front of her to go in and out of focus. She bit her lip and shook her head to clear the dizziness away when the Great Lion spoke.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia."

_His voice was of a deep and rich rumble,_ Claire thought before frowning deeply. She contemplated on whether she was to stand up or to continue kneeling with Caspian, for she was not yet a coroneted Queen but a Queen by the words of the prophecy, nonetheless. Looking up from staring at the stones in front of her, Claire raised her hand and spoke in a shaky tone.

"Eh…" She started, uneasy at the fact that the Lion's beady eyes were fixed on her. "Am I counted as 'Kings and Queens of Narnia'? I mean you haven't really considered me one… but… I don't know… it feels weird to stand and weird to kneel. Not to sound egoistic (at this point, she threw Peter a significant look) or anything, but am I supposed to stand?"

Aslan chuckled, emitting a velvety rumble from deep inside him. "Yes, Claire."

Claire rose with the help of Peter and felt her vision failing her once again. In and out, in and out. The focus of the things in front of her went. She bit her bottom lip, hard, to keep herself from fainting and leaned against Peter.

"All of you." Aslan said again, noticing the fact that Caspian was still kneeling with his head bowed low.

Caspian looked up in surprise and said. "I don't think I'm ready."

"It's for that very reason, I know you are." Aslan replied as Caspian stood up slowly when the sudden blare of a trumpet behind them startled Claire a little.

The notes of the lament sound-alike song continued playing as the mouse in front of the stretcher Reepicheep was laying on continued blowing into the instrument, much to Claire's amusement.

She watched as Lucy ran forward with a hand on the pouch her magic cordial was strapped safely on before her vision blurred up again and this time, her surroundings seemed to swirl around her, spinning and spinning. Claire held onto Peter's arm tightly, catching the High King's surprise before she finally gave into the drowsiness and collapsed, crumbling onto the ground frailly and diving into darkness.

"Claire!" Susan yelled when she saw the injured girl falling from the corner of her eyes before she was caught in the arms of her older brother.

Peter slapped the unconscious girl lightly on the face and whimpered when he received no response from her. he turned to the Great Lion for help and angered at the fact that instead of helping him, Aslan was just staring at his with his beady eyes.

"Lucy!" Edmund yelled. "The cordial, quickly!"

Peter watched his youngest sister rushed towards them soon after reviving Reepicheep and poured one droplet of the dark red potion into Claire's pale, dry mouth. He closed his eyes when he felt the tears prickling the back of his eyes painfully and prayed.

_For the girl in his arms._

_For the girl he loves._

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**reviews! i love comments. **

**be it constructive, non-constructive, words of advices, ANYTHING!**


	15. Foodfights

Hey guys!  
Here's the next chapter!  
I'm going to pull a _not-so-cliche kinda cliche_ on you :D  
Hope you don't mind.

SHOUTOUTS!  
**GoGothGirl **- I don't know if the scene's counted as extreme mushyness for you. Hopefully not (: **bluebaby3296. godsgracie12. dance-round-the-memory-tree. naniagirl17. xxroxy-dogxx. I am Brooklyn. dutchchicky **- I LOVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS! they make me smile. especially the last one. Thanks so so so much! **xXaussie609dancerXx. anticipating.the.call - **I KNOW! I especially don't like it when he doesn't allow Susan and Peter to go back to Narnia anymore ): It's not gonna be the same anymore. **iluvlovestories. fionagurls1301 **- I'm really sorry, but I didn't receive your mail. Cause somehow, I haven't been receiving alerts from . Le sigh. You can tell me via review (: Thanks for the review too! **NarnianFairyPirateAtTwilight. Midnightxwolfx. live.love.chanel. Ske-Pirate325. nithya-shineNsmile **- Thanks so much for telling me that! It makes me smile so so so much! **dancerPat **- Yeah, Claire. Come back to Peter's side, we've got Turkish Delights. **IaMoBsEsSeDwItHnArNiA. Gothqueen13. breezybrez. Star-crossed-eyes. pazaz of nothing. mypennamesunique. IAmPossessedByVanillaIceCream **- Haha, s'okay. All's well. I was wondering where you've been to. PRIDE & PREJUDICE ROCKS. **jonnahjovinick **- Oh boy, you're so precious, darling! **marykro1 **_& last but def not the least, _**Kris.**

Oh boy, I LOVE giving shoutouts to my readers!  
So as long as you read and review, you're bound to see your name in my updates!

**x's and o's**

* * *

Peter Pevensie, High King of Narnia stood vigil by the bed. He ran a hand through his matted light brown hair and closed his eyes, sighing as he did so. He wished, he hoped, he prayed that the unconscious girl in front of him would wake up soon. That she will wake up and look at him with her strangely deep blue bordering on navy colored eyes that were lined with her long dark lashes. That she will wake up and smile that dazzling smile at him, the smile that showed nothing but happiness, nothing but love.

He missed her cheerfulness. He missed the way she could make anyone laugh. Mostly, he missed the way she could make _him _smile, unknowingly. And that was what Peter need now.

The memory of seeing Claire faint two days ago was still freshly etched in his mind, haunting his days and nights. They were so vivid; they kept the High King awake at night, stopping his ability to just bow his head and fall asleep even though he was beyond exhausted. When Claire was brought into Caspian's castle for healing, she wasn't responding to anything. Even to Lucy's all-healing cordial.

"Complications are setting in, Your Majesty. Claire's fever's rising rapidly. And… I do not know when she might wake up. Or if she'll… ever wake up." Tia-Bael, the healing centaur had said when Peter brought Claire to him. Then, he remembered glaring at the centaur before bursting out in angry retorts, having been unable to control his wild emotions at that time. He was worried, angry and most importantly… _scared._

Peter scoffed internally at the sound of _'complications'_ and remembered the words Claire had once told him about her. _"I'm not a complicated girl."_ She had said and smiled as she fiddled with her charm necklace. _"They're just not my thing."_

Instinctively, Peter's hand reached up to finger the necklace Claire had lent to him. His fingers came into contact with the cold, gold heart charm before they reached behind his neck to unclasp the necklace. The charm glistened in the morning sun, allowing the words Peter never realized were engraved onto the piece of jewelry to come into clear view.

"_This is home_." Peter whispered and turned his sight from the little piece of jewelry to the sleeping girl on the bed. His hands reached for Claire's slender fingers and wrapped the necklace around their intertwined hands.

"Maybe you shouldn't have lent this to me, Claire." Peter said bitterly. "If you have had this with you – if I had returned it to you, maybe none of this would have happened."

The evil guilt inside Peter's heart accumulated and weighed down on him painfully. He blamed himself for not protecting her like he promised. He blamed himself for Claire's plight. He blamed himself for not returning Claire her necklace. He blamed himself for everything. And sadly, this guilt and the blames he was forcing upon himself was shutting him up, shunning him from the others.

Peter kissed her cold knuckles lightly and let his lips rest there. "Won't you wake up already? It's been two days. How long are you planning to continue sleeping?" Peter frowned before smiling faintly at the memory of having to wake Claire up in the past. "I know you love your sleep. But this isn't healthy you know?"

The creaking of the door interrupted Peter as he tilted his head to the side slightly to see who was coming in now. He then turned back to Claire in annoyance and held her clammy hand tighter, deciding to completely ignore the fact that she was in the room, wanting to comfort him like what the others had been doing for the past two days.

Susan Pevensie walked into the room quietly and frowned when seeing Peter's disheveled look. From his shaggy, blood clotted brown hair to his unkempt attire, she resisted the temptation of clucking her tongue at him as she closed the door behind her. He hadn't changed out of his bloodied warring attire, and it somehow disgusted her even though she knew what Peter was going through now.

She walked towards her brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, calmingly ignoring the fact that the tunic was immensely dirty. "Peter…" she whispered and received a grunt in reply.

"It's been two days since you last ate, and that's not good. Come on, we're all having breakfast now. Won't you join us?" Susan asked, hoping that her brother will step out of the chair he had been sitting on for the past two days and get himself cleaned up. Claire's condition was already worrying her, Edmund, Lucy and Caspian. But now, their main concern was on Peter, who was slowly breaking off any contact with them and reclining into this empty shell of a past driven young King.

Peter grunted again and closed his eyes against Claire's hand. He shrugged Susan's hand from his shoulder lightly and continued ignoring her presence.

Susan could have grabbed her shoe and clubbed Peter on his head if Claire's condition wasn't that bad. Restraining herself from screaming at the High King, she said. "Peter, you've got to eat." She paused. "And get yourself cleaned up, mind you."

Peter cleared his throat. "I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you _are_." Susan retorted. "You _are _hungry and you_ are_ going to have breakfast with us." Susan snapped in a bossy tone which Peter had never heard her use before. "I don't care if you don't want to, but I'm going to make damn sure that I see you ingesting some food even if it means dragging you to the dining hall in front of everyone."

Susan's nostril flared dangerously while Peter watched as she placed her fists on her hips. "I am too darned tired from asking you to eat, Peter. And if you don't get out of this room and take a bath, I'm going to get Reepicheep to force you out of this chair, _using the royal orders._ Trust me; you do not want me to do that." Susan muttered. "Now get up and go get yourself washed. You stink like a bloody Minotaur."

"_Fine_." Peter muttered, having incurred the wrath of an angry Susan. He let go of Claire's hands reluctantly with the necklace still tucked in her hands and placed it back under the duvet then pulled the covers up for fear of Claire's fever worsening. Peter reached over and kissed Claire on the forehead lightly, feeling the heat of her fever on his lips. He sighed and brushed the brown bangs from Claire's closed eyes.

"_I love you._" Peter whispered before he joined Susan out on the corridor, not noticing the light twitch under the covers.

**--**

"-coronation will not be held as long as Claire is still…" Caspian paused and stole a look at Peter before clearing his throat. "Not awake."

Johan, the Telmarine administrator for royal events nodded in acknowledgement and bowed to the royalties before him. "As you wish; Your Highness."

Peter poked and prodded at his eggs listlessly, staring at the yellowy food that was part of the breakfast set the cooks had done for him. All he wanted to do now was to go back to Claire's room and keep her company. He was afraid that he will not be there when Claire awaken.

Lucy sighed from her place beside Edmund as she put her fork down onto the napkin gently. "If you're going to keep poking your eggs, Pete, they're going to end up all mashed."

"I'm full anyway." Peter mumbled in reply and set his fork down before taking a sip of juice from his goblet. When he was done, he placed the goblet back onto the table and fiddled with a lose thread on his tunic, watching his siblings and Caspian finish up their food.

"But Peter, you've hardly eaten anything on your plate." Susan said and peered into Peter's dish. "As far as I know, you've only eaten a strip of bacon, half a sausage, _no_ toast, a forkful of egg and two miniscule gulps of juice."

Edmund gapped at his sister while his mouth was still filled with toast (making the rest of the occupants at the table gagged). "Vour 'cary Suzan."

"Sorry?" Susan said. "Close your mouth, swallow, then talk Ed. It's disgusting."

Edmund grinned sheepishly, with his mouth closed, and gulped down the toast before taking a drink from his goblet. "I said; you're scary Susan. How could you even tell how much Peter had eaten with a glance?"

Susan shrugged with a smile. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"I don't think I want to find out." Edmund replied. "It's a creepy act."

"Hey!" Susan huffed and chucked her toast at Edmund. Everyone around the table burst out laughing at Edmund's horrified face.

"You are so dead." He announced and threw a strip of bacon at Susan but missed as it landed on Peter's lap. A silence swallowed the dining hall as Edmund looked shocked at his aim. The three younger Pevensies and Caspian waited with batted breath for Peter's angry outburst though it never did come.

Rather, Peter smirked evilly and threw a handful of his mashed eggs at Edmund and somehow, one way or another, scattered the yellow food onto Caspian and Lucy. That act seemed to trigger a telepathic motion in the five royalties as they picked up a handful of food simultaneously and threw it at each other without warning, evolving the small joking act to a full-fledged food fight.

_Peter threw an apple at Caspian._

_Susan threw a pancake at Peter._

_Edmund poured his goblet of juice onto Lucy's head._

_Lucy splashed Susan with maple syrup._

_Claire threw a piece of toast at Peter._

Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy and Caspian stopped in the actions of continuing with the food fight and wheeled around slowly. Each held a banana, bacon or sausage in their hands as their jaws dropped at the grinning girl before them.

Claire smiled at their unison actions and brought up a grape. "Grapes, anyone?"

"Claire!" Lucy shouted and dropped the half-eaten piece of pancake back onto her the table before running towards her and hugging the taller girl tightly. "You've finally woken up! All of us have been so worried about you!"

Claire laughed a little patted Lucy on the back lightly. "I'm sorry for making you guys worry then. Not that I wanted it."

Lucy broke from the hug as Caspian went forth to ruffle Claire's hair jokingly. "You're finally up and about, Shorty."

"_Hey_!" Claire exclaimed, slapping the Telmarine Prince's hand away. "I'm older than you, Rascal. And I absolutely resent that 'short' comment. I'm tall for my age, thank you very much. You're just experiencing a premature growth sprout. _Nothing special_."

Caspian rolled his eyes and smiled. "Right."

"Well, I am on Caspian's side for that 'short' comment, dwarf." Edmund said and hugged Claire lightly, lest he hurt her by squeezing her too hard.

"Thanks a lot for the support, pale-faced cunning Pevensie." Claire retorted sarcastically before she broke the hug and was greeted by Susan's warm embrace.

"I miss you, Claire." Susan said, happy that her best friend was finally awake. In her happiness, she had forgotten that Claire had just recovered and hugged her a little too enthusiastically, causing Claire to grimace at the sharp shooting pain tearing through her body.

"Owww." Claire whispered as she broke from the hug and placed her hand on the wound gingerly.

"I'm so sorry!" Susan apologized, seeing the pain she was causing her. "Did I hurt you badly?"

Claire shook her head and bit her bottom lip to counteract the pain. "N-no. It stings a little, but it's getting much better."

Peter stayed rooted to his place as he watched the exchange in front of him. Yes, he was surprised at seeing Claire awake and joking around… but more importantly, he was elated. Elated at being able to see the cheery smile on her face. Ecstatic at being able to see the blues of her eyes.

Peter's light blue eyes met her deeper blue ones as Claire looked at him, widening her smile with every passing second. He watched as she walked toward him and before he knew it, she was standing directly in front of him, staring at him with her exquisite bright eyes.

"The words you said during the battle…" Claire said, peering up at Peter's face. "Is it still in use?"

Peter smiled and took her hand in his. Then, he reached down slowly and kissed her on the lips, lightly, gently. "It's got a lifetime validity."

Claire wrapped her arms around her knight-in-shining-amour, content at finally being able to do things that couple do to Peter (no wrong thoughts there, let's keep this at PG). Only a few seconds later, she broke away and scowled.

"Seriously, Pevensie." She frowned. "A food-fight without me? That's a crime. A sinful, _sinful _crime."

She then picked up the syrup bowl from the table and smirked devilishly at Peter. "And for that crime, comes punishment." She said, waving the bowl ever so slightly.

"But I just had my bath!" Peter said incredulously while Edmund sniggered behind him. "And I smell nice!"

"High King Peter of Narnia, _whining_." He said with a tone full of amusement. "Never thought I will live to see the day."

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

**Spread some love, darlings!**


	16. Full titles & Promises

Hi guys!  
Sorry for the delay in updating my stories!  
_But it's just that most of my time's been taken up by my major muggings for my graduating papers this year.  
_And I really do hope to get **fantabulous** results (:  
Anywhoos, hope you like this update :D

Shout-outs:

**fionagurls1301. bluebaby3296 -** Thanks for the compliment, dear. I'll tryna add as much Suspian as I can (: **licette230. iluvlovestories. GoGothGirl. pazaz of nothing - **Your review totally cracked me up (: Esp the BF thing. I'll tryda extend this story for as long as I possibly can :D **dance-round-the-memory-tree. kris. Californication13. xxroxy-dogxx. Gothqueen13 - **You're welcomeee! Thanks for reviewing! **narniagirl17. mypennamesunique - **That actually happened to me once, minus the part of having injured people. Haha. Glad you liked it (: **jonnahjovinick - **Hope I'm still your hero after this looooooooong delay. **Denys. Midnightxwolfx. brezzybrez. godsgracie12 - **Thanks for the compliment, dear! **I Am Brooklyn - **Yeah, I was hoping for a less darker kinda situation and recovery. Casue I'm not a dark person. HAHA. Glad you liked it! **NarnianFairyPirateAtTwilight. Sky-Pirate325. anticipating.the.call - **I know! I always tryda imagine Peter whining, and thought it'd be funny to add it into the chapter. **IAmPossessedByVanillaIceCream. nithya-shineNsmile - **I'm really glad you love it! **XoKortnayoX. live.love.chanel. dancerPat. dutchchicky - **FIFTY CHAPTERS?! That's too major! HAHA. I'm seriously very grateful that you liked the update! **Random Tweaker. Star-crossed-eyes** and last but def not the least, **eli.**

**x's and o's darlings,  
Ciao.**

* * *

"Claire…" Susan called, shaking the sleeping girl gently.

It was yet another morning after the day Claire had woken up and yet another morning closer to the coronation. Everyone in the castle and the whole of Narnia were back to its usual state of peace and harmony, where even the Narnians and Telmarines were living together in peace. Everybody in the castle were busy bustling around preparing for the royal coronation of Claire and Prince Caspian with little dwarfs running here and there with arms filled with oversized streamers.

"Mmmm…" Claire mumbled since her face was buried under the covers.

Susan stifled a giggle and continued her insistent shaking before she finally had the sense to tear the covers from Claire's body. Then, she walked over to the drawn velvet curtains and drew them up slowly, allowing the morning sun to colour the room with its golden hue.

"Wake up, Claire. It's time for breakfast."

Claire's peeled open reluctantly and almost immediately, squeezed itself shut from the intense sunlight. She grappled for the blanket blindly and tugged it from Susan's hands before throwing it over her face. "Ten more minutes, Ma. I'm really tired. I did like math equations… yesterday."

"Math equations?" Susan questioned with amusement. It was funny how this girl, who was about to be coroneted as one of the Queens of Narnia was actually as normal as any teenager you will ever meet. She was about to become a Queen, yes, but she was a teenager nevertheless. A teenager who, in order to be able to get a few more minutes of sleep will cook up insane excuses to do so. A teenager who loves food fights. A teenager who thinks studying is boring and that mathematics should be deemed as a crime.

"Yes… very, very, very challenging equations." Claire buried herself deeper into her pillow and sighed. "Night, Ma."

Susan nearly growled out in frustration as she sat down onto the side of Claire's bed, thinking how much of a feat it was to wake the sixteen year old up. Truth be told, it was even harder to wake Claire up than Caspian or even Peter who were both notorious for their _'five more minutes'_ routine every morning.

"She refused to get up, I suppose?"

Susan's whipped to the door of the suite, holding her chest in shock at the sudden interruption. Frowning at the surprise Peter had just given her, Susan nodded and shrugged helplessly.

"What did she tell you she did the last night?" Peter asked as he crossed the room and came to Claire's bedside in a few broad strides.

"Very, very, very challenging math equations." Susan repeated Claire's words and watched as an amused smile tugged on Peter's cheeks.

"She told me she cleaned the whole house the night before." Peter replied, shaking his head. "And I actually believed her, until the point when I remembered we were in a _castle_, not a _house_."

The two Pevensies shared a laugh which ended abruptly when Claire shifted a little in her sleep before stilling with a near inaudible snore from the girl. Peter shook his head at Claire's actions and turned to Susan with a knowing look in his eyes. "Caspian's been looking around for you."

Susan's head shot up with her blue eyes lighting up with a sudden gleam to it. "Really?"

Peter nodded his head and watched as his sister stood up from the bed and crossed the room to the door swiftly. "Well, then I'll leave the job of waking Claire to you, Pete. See you two at breakfast."

With that, Susan's light blue dress whipped out of sight as she closed the door behind her quietly. Peter frowned at how Caspian could make his sister so happy just by wanting to see her, to talk to her. He knew of the attraction between them, but Peter was afraid of seeing Susan get hurt. Susan may look strong and smart on the outside, but on the inside, she was a girl nonetheless. A girl who hasn't have any experience with things regarding love. A girl who like anyone was prone to pain brought on by love. Another snore from Claire brought Peter out of his reverie as his demeanor changed from one of worry for his sister, to one of amusement from the girl whom he had taken an immense attraction too.

Peter kneeled down beside Claire's bed and propped his elbows onto the soft maroon covers to take a closer look at the sleeping figure. Claire, as though to allow Peter a closer look, tore herself away from burying her face in her pillow and faced upwards, all the while sleeping soundly. Smiling despite himself, Peter brought out his hand to smooth down the unruly knots in her hair, which was all ruffled up in her sleep. He thought back to the times where she would complain and rant to him about how hard it is to comb her hair in the morning and how she wished she had hair like Susan or Lucy's who had hair that were smooth and shiny.

For a period of time, Peter simply kneeled by Claire's side, running his fingers through her hair, watching her sleep all the while. He had seen guys do this to girls which they liked in films he had seen back in England. Back then, he thought doing this to girls were stupid, as were watching them sleep and having silly smiles on their faces when they were near. But even since he met Claire, all his thoughts about these actions being stupid were thrown out of the window without a care because Peter was gradually used to and even like to do it.

Claire started to shift again and this time, she slowly peeled her eyes open and blinked a few times to clear the haziness from her sleepy system. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and let out a contented sigh with the good night's rest she has had.

"Hell!" Claire cursed aloud when she turned on her side and was greeted by Peter's grinning face.

Peter chuckled and stopped combing his fingers through her hair. "Ever so ladylike, huh?"

"Don't you know it's considered creepy to watch someone sleep?" Claire countered as she stifled a yawn. "That's a trademark amongst serial stalker murderers. Are you going to murder me?"

Peter smirked and pushed himself off of the floor and went to sit on the bed beside Claire who scooted to her left slightly. "Not really," Peter said nonchalantly and smirked. "But I was considering of getting Lucy and the others to come in and dress you up as a… _clown_."

"Clown?!"

Peter nodded.

"No way!" Claire exclaimed and tore off the covers, exposing the hitched up sleeping gown that clearly showed a huge part of her thigh. Peter's eyes trailed to her legs and they widened alarmingly at the exposed skin. His eyes stayed transfixed at her legs until he finally had the sense to look away, coughing in awkwardness.

"Ahem…" Claire attempted, clearing her throat in embarrassment. She pulled the gown over her thighs and got up from the bed carefully, obviously not wanting the incident moment before, to happen again. "I'm up!"

"Hurray." Peter cheered in screaming sarcasm and watched as Claire picked up a brush from the vanity.

"Oww, oww, oww!" Claire cried as she pulled the brush through her head of unruly brown hair and tugged it painfully through, making Peter cringe at the forcefulness. She continued this routine for a few more tugs until having had enough of the pain and frustration of combing her hair; she threw the brush onto the floor stubbornly and huffed.

"Why can't I have Susan or Lucy's hair? Their hairs are so ni-…"

Peter sighed. "Oh boy. Here we go again."

Claire continued her rant, ignoring Peter's comment. "And sleek! And all I've got is a worthless bunch of brown hay that just so happens to grow on my scalp.

* * *

_Thud!_

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Trufflehunter grinned broadly and shook his furry head. "I don't think I am, Your Majesty." Trufflehunter reached underneath the table and came back up with another pile of hardcover books. "There's more."

Claire groaned and buried her face in the palms of her hands. "Anymore more?"

"Just one more book and we're done." Trufflehunter said and for the third time, disappeared under the long oak library table and came back up with the thickest book Claire had ever seen in her whole life.

_If her chemistry book was to be the thickest book, then Claire had obviously seen nothing yet._

"Why must I study all this anyway?" Claire grumbled as she read the words on the dusty dark red cover. _Narnia: Our Beginning._

"It's not like I can remember any of it." Claire turned to the aged badger with a stubborn pout.

Trufflehunter shrugged helplessly and passed the ink, quill and parchment to Claire who took it grudgingly. "It's a need for you to understand all that you can about Narnia before you can rule this land, Your Majesty."

Claire reached forward and slaps Trufflehunter on the head. "Stop with the entire _'Your Majesty'_ thing, dude. It's pretty annoying."

The badger hopped away from Claire and held up his paws in surrender. "Fine, fine. No need to get all cranky." Trufflehunter then walked towards the huge doors of the library, leaving Claire alone in the massive room. "I'll leave you to your studying, Yo-" Trufflehunter was cut off by the hard glare from the sixteen year old. "_Claire._ See you in a few hours."

"_No freaking duh_." Claire mumbled under her breath and let out a tired sigh. She flipped open the cover of the last and thickest book the old badger had passed to her and gagged at the tiny letters. "This is worst than Mr Swift's lessons. I miss him already."

**--**

"-all that I have on the status of the Bridge's restoration, Your Majesties." Merryweather, the centaur whom was placed in charge over the construction of River's Beruna's bridge said with a low bow.

Peter nodded and sat straighter in his temporary throne. He cleared his throat and looked at the court officials in the courtroom then to Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Caspian. "Are there anything else any of you would like to report about?"

The four royalties shook their heads while the officials remained silent, in which Peter took as a 'No'. "Very well, that's the end of today's court meeting then. Good work, everyone."

The officials bowed in unison and chanted. "For Narnia, Your Majesties."

"Alright, all of you may leave now." Peter said and watched as the Narnians left the courtroom one by one. He plopped back onto his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Can you _bloody _believe it?!" Edmund cried out from his place beside Peter. "We've been having this meeting for _hours_!" He hopped up from his seat and scurried to the door. "God, I'm famished."

Peter laughed along with the others and stole a glance at the open window of the courtroom. The sun was disappearing into the horizon and was now casting a dusty orange colour on the cloudless skies. As he watched the birds fly into the horizon, he thought about how Claire was doing for the past few hours he had been stuck in the courtroom and stood up abruptly.

He threw a sheepish smile at the three other occupants who were looking at Peter's sudden action weirdly. "Well, I'm going to go check on how Claire's doing. See you three at dinner later."

Lucy giggled behind her hand girlishly and waved Peter away. "Alright, alright. Bye."

With that, Peter walked out of the door and walked in the direction of the library. He was greeted and bowed to by several passing Narnians and Telmarines, when he finally reached the large oak doors of the library. Peter pushed the doors open quietly and jumped in shock when the hinges of the door let out a long and shrill creaking sound. Making a mental note to get someone to oil the hinges, Peter walked into the library and spotted the pile of books at one end of the long studying table.

He walked towards the table quietly, picking up pieces of parchment that had flown away and fell to the floor due to the sudden strong breeze blowing into the massive room from the open window.

"Claire…" Peter said and walked close enough to see Claire's head lolling off of the palms of her left hand while her right hand was holding onto an ink-dried quill.

_She had actually dozed off._

"Amazing." Peter whispered and shook the girl gently.

"Clair-"

Claire's head shot up from lolling off her palm and her eyes began to scan around wildly. "Whaaa?"

"You dozed off while studying." Peter pointed out bluntly and pulled up a chair beside hers. He pulled one of the open books Claire had stopped on towards him and burst out laughing when he caught sight of the ink smudge on her flushed face.

"What?"

Peter turned Claire's body so she was facing him directly and pulled her face closer to him. He pressed both his hands onto her cheeks and used his right thumb to rub away the smudge on her left cheek. "You've got ink on your cheek."

"You can't blame me! The quills are just too messy." Claire said, showing Peter her ink-covered hands. "I'm more used to using ball-point pens, thank you very much."

Peter smiled at her whine and reached forward to kiss Claire on her nose lightly. He rested his warm lips on her slightly colder nose for a while before trailing down to the corner of her mouth slowly, gently. Then, he pulled away and wound his arms around Claire's petite build, pulling her close to his chest and resting his chin on the top of her head.

"What was that for?" Claire asked and moved a little in his arms to look at him.

Peter shrugged and nuzzled Claire's hair with his cheek. "I just felt like doing it." He pulled away and kissed her on the lips fully, smiling in amusement against her lips at her uneasiness.

"Oh…" Claire said, breaking away from the kiss and resting her head against Peter's tunic clad chest. "I see."

"You had me so worried when you were injured." Peter said with a sigh. "I was so afraid that you were going to leave me."

Claire looked up into Peter's eyes and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

Peter shook his head, making his hair fall into his eyes. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

"But I did make you worried, didn't I?"

"That wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault that you got shot by the arrow. I was supposed to protect you, like I promised. But I failed to, that's why you got injured."

"You did protect me you goof!" Claire cried, smacking Peter on the head. "But you're a human too; you can't always be there to act as my human shield."

"Bu-!"

Claire held out her finger, stopping Peter from talking. "No buts!" she held out her pinky finger and wriggled it for Peter to do the same. When Peter did nothing but stare at her in confusion, Claire let out a frustrated sigh and pulled the young King's pinky finger on her own.

"Here." She linked their two fingers together and smiled. "I solemnly pinky promise that I, Claire White, will watch over myself like a _puma_ and never, ever, ever, _EVER,_ make His Majesty King Peter, High King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, and Peter the Magnificent, worried, sad, frustrated, angry or other unpleasant emotions with my stupid acts. Instead, I promise to make him happy everyday of his life so he will not become a grouchy King in the future and make the lives of the Narnians miserable."

"How in Aslan's name did you know my _full_ title?"

"I read it in one of those books," Claire said, gesturing to the pile in front of them. "-and thought it'd be fun to actually memorize them to tease you."

"Speaking of books," Claire turned to Peter with a sickly sweet smile that meant no good for the young King. "-do you think you can get Trufflehunter to relieve me of this misery?"

"No."

Claire huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh dang, it was worth a try though."

* * *

Reading **reviews** are much much much more enjoyable than facing books


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